September 7, 2023 |
Photo – Colorado River – Courtesy AccuWeather
Governor Mark Gordon’s newly formed Colorado River Advisory System met for the first time yesterday.
The committee consists of 11 members representing various water users and interests in Wyoming’s portion of the Colorado River Basin. The members were chosen from the Green River and Little Snake River basins to represent agriculture, industry, municipalities, environmental interests, conservation districts and the Wyoming Legislature.
Governor Gordon told the members in a letter dated September 5th that they were chosen because of their backgrounds in the various sectors that develop and use water systems in the state. “An effective Advisory Committee will be essential to the decision-making of the Governor and the Governor’s appointed Colorado River Commissioner,” Gordon told the group in an introductory letter.
The agenda for Wednesday’s meeting included a hydrology update and a packet on water banking.
In an Environmental Impact Statement for near term Colorado River operations released earlier this year, the Bureau of Reclamation announced a proposal to revise it guidelines for the operation of both the Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona and the Hoover Dam on the border of Nevada and Arizona.
The Green River in northwest Wyoming and the Yampa River in Colorado are major tributaries of the Colorado River. Both states, along with Utah and New Mexico are categorized as Upper Division states. The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation is tasked with operating the Colorado River system in both the Upper and Lower Basins.
The water problems affecting the region were predicted over 100 years ago by those who were critical of the water infrastructure system that was developed in the western states during the early 20th century. The period from 2000 through 2022 has been the driest 23-year period in more than a century and one of the driest periods in the last 1,200 years, according to experts. This has resulted in historically low reservoir levels at Lake Powell and Lake Mead.
According to a federal table, Wyoming is allotted only 14 percent of the flows in the Colorado River system each year. The State of Colorado is allowed nearly 51.75 percent for consumptive use. Utah is allotted 23 percent and New Mexico 11 percent.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Wyoming governor said that he is confident that the newly formed committee “will provide invaluable insight to the decisions of myself and State Engineer Brandon Gebhart as our state defends it interests in Wyoming’s portion of the Colorado River Basin.”
Public information shared during the meetings and other documents concerning Wyoming’s involvement in the ongoing developments can be found on the State Engineer’s web site at the Colorado River Advisory Committee page.
https://seo.wyo.gov/wyoming-colorado-river-advisory-committee
