Support the Arctic Sea Ice Forum and Blog

Author Topic: Lake Effects  (Read 30090 times)

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Lake Effects
« on: July 28, 2013, 07:44:54 PM »
Increased evaporation and lessened ice coverage may mean the new normal for the Great Lakes of North America is warmer water, with a much lower water level than in past decades.  Ship traffic, recreation, even drinking water supplies and sewage disposal are affected.

http://m.jsonline.com/more/news/wisconsin/does-lake-michigans-record-low-water-level-mark-beginning-of-new-era-for-great-lakes-216429601.html
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

JackTaylor

  • Frazil ice
  • Posts: 209
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #1 on: July 29, 2013, 04:21:15 PM »
http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Detroit District has Great Lake Levels
here
http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/Missions/GreatLakesInformation/GreatLakesWaterLevels.aspx

R, JT

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2013, 05:28:20 PM »
Drought in the Southwest US:

“Lake Mead sank to its lowest level in nearly 75 years on Sunday, a stark reminder of how drought and growing water demands have sapped the Colorado River and its huge reservoirs.”

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/20101019lake-mead-water-level-new-historic-low.html?nclick_check=1#ixzz2adXsjo5V

A study by Colorado State University, Princeton and the U.S. Forest Service says:
Quote
In the Colorado River Basin, “Lakes Powell and Mead are projected to drop to zero and only occasionally thereafter add rather small amounts of storage before emptying again..."
http://summitcountyvoice.com/2013/02/24/water-lake-powell-may-dry-up-within-a-few-decades/


“Severe drought has driven New Mexico’s Elephant Butte Reservoir to its lowest water level in four decades, a problem that’s the latest in a series of drought-related challenges facing the state. ... This year, the river experienced its shortest irrigation season in recorded history, ending just a month and a half after it started”

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/07/30/2269921/new-mexicos-elephant-butte-reservoir-dries-up/
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

JimD

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 2272
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 6
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #3 on: July 31, 2013, 07:11:19 PM »
Sigmetnow

The article you linked to is almost 3 years old.

Current water level has been in between 1105 and 1106 ft for a couple of weeks and as high as 1135 since 2010.  For all most all of 2009, 2010 and 2011 the water level was lower than today.  It was also lower than now for about a year in 1965  and all most all of the period from 1955-58.  The lake was first filled in 1938 after being built.

Lake Mead is  certainly low and the trend is downward over the years.  The water level varies significantly over the course of a year and there are other factors which impact daily levels other than the long-term drought.  Irrigation and power generation demands make it fluctuate all the time.  Then there is an agreement on water storage on the Colorado that requires Glen Canyon be kept at virtually full levels all the time.  So they will reduce flow out of Glen Canyon to keep it full and that causes a big drop in Lake Mead

Glen Canyon Dam (Lake Powell) was finished in 1963.  This, and Flaming Gorge Dam, are the reasons for the low levels of Lake Meade in 1965 as they were still filling Lake Powell and flaming Gorge.  Lake Mead and Lake Powell are, respectively, the two largest dams in the US in terms of water storage (25.9 & 24.3 million acre ft).  So the effect of building Glen Canyon was to double storage on the Colorado river in one fell swoop.  Flaming Gorge Dam was built on the Green River (a tributary of the Colorado River) in 1964 and is also a very large dam in storage terms.  Flaming Gorge, like Lake Powell, is kept near full capacity most of the time.  Thus the storage between the three lakes (and minor ones) is what counts for storage in the Colorado River drainage and how dire the water supply is.

On a side note, if anyone is interested, Glen Canyon and Flaming Gorge were both disastrous locations to place dams.  The Glen Canyon site was chosen due to the Sierra Club screwing up on their opposition to the original site location.  They opposed the original site as being too sensitive but it turned out that they were, for some reason, not familiar with Glen Canyon.  So the Corp of Engineers accepted the alternative and built the Glen Canyon Dam.  This destroyed an area that at least equaled the Grand Canyon in beauty and ecological diversity to save a minor area.  If the dam had been built elsewhere Glen Canyon would now be a National Park that rivaled Yosemite and the Grand Canyon.  The Law of Unintended Consequences!

http://www.arachnoid.com/NaturalResources/

http://mead.uslakes.info/Level.asp

http://lakemead.water-data.com/

.
We do not err because truth is difficult to see. It is visible at a glance. We err because this is more comfortable. Alexander Solzhenitsyn

How is it conceivable that all our technological progress - our very civilization - is like the axe in the hand of the pathological criminal? Albert Einstein

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2013, 04:39:41 PM »
Thanks for the update, JimD -- didn’t notice the date on that one. 

I do find this recent (June 2013) article about digging a third intake tunnel (a “third straw”) deeper below Lake Mead to keep water flowing to Las Vegas:
http://www.mynews3.com/mostpopular/story/Water-Authority-continues-to-dig-third-straw/y4smrfTqHE-5m7LuTzhkpA.cspx

And this also from June on water allocation cuts forecast in the near future:
Quote
The Colorado River — and Lake Mead — are in deep trouble.
Studies by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation show that demand will soon overwhelm supply. The first stage of water restrictions could come as soon as 2016, when Lake Mead has a one-in-three chance of slipping below the critical 1,075-foot threshold.
...
Lake Mead will almost certainly fall below 1,075 feet in the near future, Mulroy said. Soon after that, life will change in Southern Nevada. Eventually, Hoover Dam will stop producing electricity, and water restrictions will change the way we live.
http://www.knpr.org/son/archive/detail2.cfm?SegmentID=10158&ProgramID=2805
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #5 on: August 12, 2013, 06:31:18 PM »
Update:  Lake Mead and Lake Powell, reservoirs in the Southwest US, are likely to soon be declared in serious water shortage.
Aug 12, 2013.

"As soon as Monday, the federal government’s Bureau of Reclamation will announce the results of some very serious number crunching and model running focused on falling water levels in Lake Powell. It is widely expected that the bureau will announce that there is a serious water shortage and that for the first time in the 50-year-history of the dam, the amount of water that will be released from the reservoir will be cut. Not just cut, but cut by 750,000 acre feet — an acre foot being enough water to cover an acre one foot deep. That’s more than 9 percent below the 8.23 million acre feet that is supposed to be delivered downstream to Lake Mead for use in the states of California, Nevada and Arizona and the country of Mexico under the 81-year old Colorado River Compact and later agreements."

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/08/12/2439931/reservoir-billboards-southwest/
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

JackTaylor

  • Frazil ice
  • Posts: 209
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #6 on: August 13, 2013, 04:22:55 PM »
"Lake Mead and Lake Powell, reservoirs in the Southwest US, are likely to soon be declared in serious water shortage.  Aug 12, 2013"

What happens if a strong El nino returns?
http://aquadoc.typepad.com/waterwired/2010/07/lake-mead-colossus-and-el-ni%C3%B1o-1983.html
Lake Mead topped out at 1225.83 ft in 1983.
If El nino returns and something like Hurricane Octave occurs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Octave_(1983)

will it cause complacency and failure to face the truth?
 
What happens with Hurricanes or Tropical Storms from Gulf of Mexico progressing up the Rio Grande Valley into Arizona - New Mexico?

If current conditions continue,
"how to evacuate the south-west may be the best discussion."


Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2013, 05:47:57 PM »
Forget sharks. Freshwater lakes, rivers, water parks and pools can have an even better reason to keep you out of the water: N. fowleri amoebas.  And warming waters may be helping them spread.

http://mobile.theverge.com/2013/6/27/4466280/brain-eating-amoeba-increasing-with-climate-change

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/brain-eating-amoeba-remains-rare-deadly-6C10916521
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Shared Humanity

  • Guest
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #8 on: August 16, 2013, 01:51:41 AM »
Forget sharks. Freshwater lakes, rivers, water parks and pools can have an even better reason to keep you out of the water: N. fowleri amoebas.  And warming waters may be helping them spread.

http://mobile.theverge.com/2013/6/27/4466280/brain-eating-amoeba-increasing-with-climate-change

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/brain-eating-amoeba-remains-rare-deadly-6C10916521


Well, OK then. That's scary.

JimD

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 2272
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 6
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #9 on: August 16, 2013, 02:20:21 AM »
Sigmetnow

Yes I saw that.  I almost put a post in there saying that I think the author Mr. Kenworthy has misunderstood or misinterpreted some of what they are talking about.  From the article...

Quote
It is widely expected that the bureau will announce that there is a serious water shortage and that for the first time in the 50-year-history of the dam, the amount of water that will be released from the reservoir will be cut. Not just cut, but cut by 750,000 acre feet — an acre foot being enough water to cover an acre one foot deep. That’s more than 9 percent below the 8.23 million acre feet that is supposed to be delivered downstream to Lake Mead for use in the states of California, Nevada and Arizona and the country of Mexico under the 81-year old Colorado River Compact and later agreements.

I may be mistaken but what I think the correct interpretation is is that releases from Lake Powell will be cut back to ensure that they can continue to run the power generation facilities at Glen Canyon Dam at full capacity.  I do not think it means that water supplies to CA, AZ, NV and Mexico are going to drop below the 8.23 million acre feet required by the agreement.  I think what they will do is 'increase' releases from Hoover Dam at Lake Mead.  They do not have to restrict releases from Mead until the water level reaches 1075 feet.  It is now at 1106 feet.  For reference a couple of years ago they were still releasing water when the level was at 1082.  There was a big surge in rain/snow fall at that point and some temporary recovery.

Long-term, of course, the southwest is going to have to institute water conservation on a wide scale and probably water restrictions.  AZ could easily get along on 50% of the water it takes now if people were forced to conserve.  My wife and I are not even trying hard and we use about 1/3 of the normal in our area of AZ.  In the Phoenix area they use a lot more than around here.  Stupid.  Ban private swimming pools and developments with private man made lakes!
We do not err because truth is difficult to see. It is visible at a glance. We err because this is more comfortable. Alexander Solzhenitsyn

How is it conceivable that all our technological progress - our very civilization - is like the axe in the hand of the pathological criminal? Albert Einstein

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #10 on: August 16, 2013, 06:37:06 AM »
Jim


Don't forget the golf courses!


I lived in Las Vegas for 25 years & overall the residential water restrictions have been effective. Golf courses however require enormous amounts of water in desert environments & telling the good old boys that they can't play their favorite game won't go over well.


Lake Mead water levels can be slightly deceptive in that they don't account for silt. The lake isn't as deep as it once was even when the water level is the same.


Terry

JimD

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 2272
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 6
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #11 on: August 16, 2013, 05:44:32 PM »
Terry

I am not sure if it is the case in all of AZ but I have read that the golf courses in the Phoenix area use waste water not fresh water.  Now this doesn't mean that the waste water could not be better used to grow some food.  Until times get really tough I am sure the politicians will error on the side of the tourist industry.

If you want to get an idea how out of control the swimming pool and artificial lakes built in developments are in the Phoenix area just get on Google Earth and zoom in and cruise around.  Notice how many are green (algae ponds) that no one is taking care of.
We do not err because truth is difficult to see. It is visible at a glance. We err because this is more comfortable. Alexander Solzhenitsyn

How is it conceivable that all our technological progress - our very civilization - is like the axe in the hand of the pathological criminal? Albert Einstein

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #12 on: August 16, 2013, 10:03:28 PM »
Yeah
My whole backyard was pool & deck in Las Vegas. Took a lot of water to keep it filled in the summer. The last few years I found we were using it less and less. If I'd stayed there I'd probably have had it filled in.
The grey water golf courses use in Las Vegas would otherwise be treated and pumped back into Lake Mead. Howard Hughes used to complain because the discharge was upstream from the inlet pipes -- but in AZ it's all down stream [size=78%]
Terry

[/size]

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #13 on: August 22, 2013, 12:28:41 AM »
Dr. Jeff Masters discusses “Unprecedented Cut in Colorado River Flow Ordered, Due to Drought”

 www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2495

“As of August 18, 2013, Lake Powell was 109' below full pool (45% of capacity), and was falling at a rate of one foot every six days.”

"Lake Mead has fallen by 100 feet since the current 14-year drought began in 2000, and the higher of the two intake pipes used to supply Las Vegas with water from the lake is in danger of running dry. As a result, a seven-year, $800 million project is underway by the Southern Nevada Water Authority to build a third intake pipe that will tap the deepest part of the reservoir. This so-called "third straw" is scheduled to be available late in 2014, which may be cutting it close, if the Colorado River watershed experiences another year of drought as severe as in 2012 - 2013."

"...The paper analyzed the latest generation of climate models used for the 2013 IPCC report, which project that the weather conditions that spawned the 2000 - 2004 drought will be the new normal in the Western U.S. by 2030, and will be considered extremely wet by the year 2100. If these dire predictions of a coming "megadrought" are anywhere close to correct, it will be extremely challenging for the Southwest U.S. to support a growing population in the coming decades."
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #14 on: August 22, 2013, 12:32:40 AM »
Sin City Runs Dry: Drought in The Land of Fountains

“Climate change, to me, is a dark tunnel,” said [Patricia Mulroy, Southern Nevada Water Authority General Manager]. “The rear view mirror doesn’t do you any good, what’s happened in the past, is no indicator of what is going to happen in the future. Everything has changed, and we don’t have much to go on.”

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/08/16/2474451/sin-city-water/
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Shared Humanity

  • Guest
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #15 on: August 22, 2013, 02:19:43 AM »
Dr. Jeff Masters discusses “Unprecedented Cut in Colorado River Flow Ordered, Due to Drought”

 www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2495

If these dire predictions of a coming "megadrought" are anywhere close to correct, it will be extremely challenging for the Southwest U.S. to support a growing population in the coming decades."

I think Phoenix residents have a good chance of being the first urban climate refugees in the U.S. to

JimD

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 2272
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 6
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #16 on: August 22, 2013, 05:09:21 PM »
Removed.

I screwed up.  I did not read the post carefully enough and thought it was a repeat of a post on Climate Progress which was badly in error.  Dr. Masters was talking about Lake Powell and not Lake Mead like the Climate Progress article was.

« Last Edit: August 22, 2013, 10:05:57 PM by JimD »
We do not err because truth is difficult to see. It is visible at a glance. We err because this is more comfortable. Alexander Solzhenitsyn

How is it conceivable that all our technological progress - our very civilization - is like the axe in the hand of the pathological criminal? Albert Einstein

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #17 on: August 24, 2013, 07:18:30 PM »
Lake Okeechobee in Florida (US) is surrounded by a 143-mile long dike, “built in the 1930s out of gravel, rock, limestone, sand, and shell using old engineering methods.”  Record July rains have raised the level of the lake to where it is in danger of failure this year should heavy rains from a tropical storm or hurricane put high stress on the dike.  Efforts from the Army Corps of Engineers to lower the lake level are contributing to toxic algae blooms along the coast -- the lake’s water is polluted with agricultural runoff and fertilizers.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2499
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

AndrewP

  • Frazil ice
  • Posts: 129
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 0
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #18 on: August 25, 2013, 08:00:08 PM »
Sigmetnow

The article you linked to is almost 3 years old.

Current water level has been in between 1105 and 1106 ft for a couple of weeks and as high as 1135 since 2010.  For all most all of 2009, 2010 and 2011 the water level was lower than today.  It was also lower than now for about a year in 1965  and all most all of the period from 1955-58.  The lake was first filled in 1938 after being built.

Lake Mead is  certainly low and the trend is downward over the years.  The water level varies significantly over the course of a year and there are other factors which impact daily levels other than the long-term drought.  Irrigation and power generation demands make it fluctuate all the time.  Then there is an agreement on water storage on the Colorado that requires Glen Canyon be kept at virtually full levels all the time.  So they will reduce flow out of Glen Canyon to keep it full and that causes a big drop in Lake Mead

Glen Canyon Dam (Lake Powell) was finished in 1963.  This, and Flaming Gorge Dam, are the reasons for the low levels of Lake Meade in 1965 as they were still filling Lake Powell and flaming Gorge.  Lake Mead and Lake Powell are, respectively, the two largest dams in the US in terms of water storage (25.9 & 24.3 million acre ft).  So the effect of building Glen Canyon was to double storage on the Colorado river in one fell swoop.  Flaming Gorge Dam was built on the Green River (a tributary of the Colorado River) in 1964 and is also a very large dam in storage terms.  Flaming Gorge, like Lake Powell, is kept near full capacity most of the time.  Thus the storage between the three lakes (and minor ones) is what counts for storage in the Colorado River drainage and how dire the water supply is.

On a side note, if anyone is interested, Glen Canyon and Flaming Gorge were both disastrous locations to place dams.  The Glen Canyon site was chosen due to the Sierra Club screwing up on their opposition to the original site location.  They opposed the original site as being too sensitive but it turned out that they were, for some reason, not familiar with Glen Canyon.  So the Corp of Engineers accepted the alternative and built the Glen Canyon Dam.  This destroyed an area that at least equaled the Grand Canyon in beauty and ecological diversity to save a minor area.  If the dam had been built elsewhere Glen Canyon would now be a National Park that rivaled Yosemite and the Grand Canyon.  The Law of Unintended Consequences!

http://www.arachnoid.com/NaturalResources/

http://mead.uslakes.info/Level.asp

http://lakemead.water-data.com/



I believe your narrative of the Glen Canyon Dam is mistaken, Jim. It was not built as an alternative to the Echo Park Dam. Both Dams were proposed. The Sierra club successfully blocked the Echo Park Dam. They did not focus their efforts on the Glen Canyon Dam. I think it's unlikely that they would have been able to block both Dams. The Echo Park Dam was the first Dam in U.S. history to be blocked by conservation efforts, and at the time was considered a huge success for conservationists. Only with the benefit of hindsight can we blame the Sierra Club for failing to block the Glen Canyon and Flaming Gorge Dams. Their efforts were primarily focused on the Echo Park Dam because a pioneering river rafter by the name of Bus Hatch had taken a group of Sierra Club members down the Gates of Lodore on the Green River which would have been flooded by the Dam. They were so impressed by the areas beauty that they decided to block the Dam. The Dam also would have flooded the Yampa river which is the last free flowing river in the Colorado River system. The Yampa River is home to 4 endangered species of fish, some of which can be found in only 1 or 2 other rivers in the world and some of which are on the brink of extinction. If the Echo Park Dam was built, these fish would assuredly be extinct.

While I can't say for sure that Glen Canyon was not more ecologically diverse or beautiful than the Yampa River or Lodore Canyon. But I can say that it is an area of exceptional beauty and undisturbed wilderness. It is also a National Monument and highly protected. It is also home to 4 species of endangered fish. The Yampa River and Lodore Canyon remain under threat of Dam proposals to this day. The Echo Park Dam remains blocked by conservationists because of the endangered fish in the Yampa River which are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Most recently, proposals to weaken the Endangered Species Act by the Bush Administration would possibly have allowed the Echo Park Dam to be built.
« Last Edit: August 25, 2013, 09:48:39 PM by AndrewP »

JimD

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 2272
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 6
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #19 on: August 25, 2013, 09:30:51 PM »
AndrewP

There is no argument that both locations were ecologically valuable.

However....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Canyon_Dam

Quote
....This lack of water surcharge or insurance for the upper Colorado River basin led to a demand for what would later become the Colorado River Storage Project. The general outline of this project was for a dam on the Colorado River at Glen Canyon, several other dams on the Gunnison and San Juan tributaries of the Colorado, and a pair of dams to be built on the Green River, the Colorado's major upper tributary, at Echo Park and Split Mountain. The two Green River dams would have submerged more than 110 miles (180 km) of canyons in the federally protected Dinosaur National Monument, a move abhorred by environmentalists who did not want to see a repeat of the 1924 O'Shaughnessy Dam controversy, when a dam was built in a scenic valley in Yosemite National Park.[15]

Led by David Brower, the environmentalist organization Sierra Club fought a protracted battle against the Bureau of Reclamation, on the basis that "building the dam would not only destroy a unique wilderness area, but would set a terrible precedent for exploiting resources in America's national parks and monuments".[16] In the mid-1950s, the USBR agreed not to build the two dams – an act widely hailed as a major victory for the American environmentalist movement – but only if they could go ahead without opposition with other proposed dams at Flaming Gorge and Glen Canyon.[17] In fact, Brower and the Sierra Club supported the expansion of the proposed dam at Glen Canyon to replace the storage that would have been provided by the Echo Park dam on the Green River. The only qualm that the environmentalists had about the proposed Glen Canyon Dam was that high elevations of its reservoir would extend into Rainbow Bridge National Monument, and a proposal to build a barrier to keep water out of the monument was fought over and litigated for years until it was permanently shelved in 1973.[18] The Colorado River Storage Project was authorized in April 1956, and groundbreaking of Glen Canyon Dam began in October of the same year.[19] A common misconception is that the environmentalists were given a choice between damming Echo Park and damming Glen Canyon, but the USBR "had always planned to build a dam at Glen Canyon, regardless of the outcome of the Echo Park debate".[

It is worth noting that the Brower who engineered this result considered it the greatest failure and mistake of his life.  A sad story in any case.
We do not err because truth is difficult to see. It is visible at a glance. We err because this is more comfortable. Alexander Solzhenitsyn

How is it conceivable that all our technological progress - our very civilization - is like the axe in the hand of the pathological criminal? Albert Einstein

AndrewP

  • Frazil ice
  • Posts: 129
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 0
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #20 on: August 25, 2013, 09:55:49 PM »
In retrospect, I'm sure Brower wishes he could have blocked all the Dams in the Colorado River Storage Project. However, I doubt that that is realistic. There were strong economic and political forces behind the dams.

It's also worth emphasizing again the part of your quote that says "it is a common misconception that the conservationists were given a choice between the Glen Canyon and Echo Park Dams." Glen Canyon would have been built regardless of the result at Echo Park. The fact that at least one of the dams was blocked was a major success and a very important legal precedent for the preservation of National Monuments and Parks.

Laurent

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 2546
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 13
  • Likes Given: 50
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #21 on: August 25, 2013, 10:02:50 PM »
I have heard that their is nearly no more water going into the sea (colorado river) ?
Is that true ?
How does it goes right now ?
What should be a minimal flow to sustain the various ecological systems along the way ?

AndrewP

  • Frazil ice
  • Posts: 129
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 0
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #22 on: August 26, 2013, 01:33:05 AM »
I have heard that their is nearly no more water going into the sea (colorado river) ?
Is that true ?
How does it goes right now ?
What should be a minimal flow to sustain the various ecological systems along the way ?

That is true, although I have heard there is a plan currently to restore a very low level of flow into the ocean. All of the water is used up for irrigation and drinking water right now (almost entirely by the U.S. before it gets to Mexico).

Dams are incredibly destructive to native ecosystems. Obviously they flood huge ecosystems under water. But equally important, the flow rate, temperature, and sediment content of the water coming out of the dams is completely unnatural. Probably the pH and other mineral content as well.

Let's compare the Green and Yampa rivers which have their confluence in NE Utah. The Green is dammed and the Yampa is not. Both rivers are of similar size. In the spring, the Yampa floods raging at 5,000-20,000 cubic feet per second (depending on the snow pack). This flushes fish eggs and minnows into downstream marshes where they mature. This year it peaked at 10,000 cfs (slightly below average). By August, the Yampa typically dries up to a mere 200-300cfs. By contrast, the Green is typically held at a constant 1,100 cfs year-round. The water coming out of the Yampa is brown with high sediment content. The sediment is important for maintaining marshes, sand banks, and underwater egg nest habitat for fish. The native fish are adapted to this murky water which gives them some competitive advantage over some non-natives. They become easy prey in clear water and out-competed by non-natives which would not be able to forage in murky water. The water coming out of the Green is clear. The water coming out of the Yampa by mid-summer is a balmy 75F. The water coming out of the Flaming Gorge Dam is 60F.

The Yampa is one of the only remaining rivers that is home to 4 endangered fish: the razorback sucker, colorado pikeminnow, humpback chub, and bonytail chub. But the limited habitat, and invasive species that have been introduced and that swim up the Yampa from the Green have put them in jeopardy. Fish researchers have not been finding ANY juvenile humpback chub in the Yampa river. The youngest humpback are usually 30 years old already. While the Yampa is a much more natural environment than the Green, unless more is done to return it to a more natural environment these fish may go extinct.

Both rivers contain tons of invasive fish (bass, brown trout, rainbow trout, and northern pike that I know of probably lots of others). The Bass and Pike are carnivorous and are a huge problem. The fish and wildlife service performs fish counts using electric shocking of the water to stun fish. They kill the bass and remove the pike from the river. I'm told bass and pike numbers are declining but still incredibly high.

There are also lots of other invasive species disrupting the ecosystem too, like the tamarisk bush which  destroys natural flood plains by densely lining river banks and crowds out other native plants like the willow.

Laurent

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 2546
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 13
  • Likes Given: 50
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #23 on: August 26, 2013, 09:00:58 AM »
That reminds me, I have been to a speech recently, the officials there saying that a new law would change the rules concerning the ponds ! I live in an area where there is a lot of artificial ponds (~5000 m2), most of them where created in the 70's when there was no control. Today they have to had some devices that will allow the river to let the sediments and the fishes pass through ! For most of them it would be cheaper to destroy the dam.


Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #24 on: August 27, 2013, 05:53:06 PM »
Heavy rains overwhelm many cities’ combined Sewage+Stormwater systems, causing millions of gallons of raw and partially-treated sewage to be discharged into rivers and lakes.  This article focuses on the US Great Lakes area.

http://wwwp.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2013/08/climate-doorstep-detroit-sewage-woes
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #25 on: August 27, 2013, 06:04:27 PM »
Update on the Rim Fire, and its effects on water and electricity which supply San Francisco (California, US):

Quote
Two of the three powerhouses that provide electricity for San Francisco were damaged by the fire and have been taken offline.

Officials have been worried that ash and debris from the fire would fall into the reservoir, creating problems for the water supply. As a precaution, some of the water normally stored at Hetch Hetchy has been pumped to other reservoirs.
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/yosemite-blaze-sparks-burning-questions-about-fast-moving-fires-8C11006498
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #26 on: January 03, 2014, 08:25:32 PM »
Sacramento, California water supply becoming critically low.

Quote
Much of the tension in the Sacramento region involves managing the water that remains in Folsom Lake. Storage in the reservoir dropped below 200,000 acre-feet last week – 20 percent of its capacity – a historic low for December. Because about 500,000 people in Folsom, Fair Oaks, Roseville and other communities depend on that stored water, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Jan. 1 plans to reduce water releases from the dam into the American River.

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/12/29/6032646/drought-brings-water-rationing.html?storylink=lingospot_related_articles#storylink=cpy
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #27 on: January 03, 2014, 10:04:10 PM »
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Shared Humanity

  • Guest
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #28 on: January 04, 2014, 04:51:07 PM »
Sacramento, California water supply becoming critically low.

Quote
Much of the tension in the Sacramento region involves managing the water that remains in Folsom Lake. Storage in the reservoir dropped below 200,000 acre-feet last week – 20 percent of its capacity – a historic low for December. Because about 500,000 people in Folsom, Fair Oaks, Roseville and other communities depend on that stored water, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Jan. 1 plans to reduce water releases from the dam into the American River.

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/12/29/6032646/drought-brings-water-rationing.html?storylink=lingospot_related_articles#storylink=cpy

From linked article:

"Reclamation is currently releasing water from Folsom Dam at 1,300 cubic feet per second. At this rate, the lake loses more than 1,700 acre-feet per day......"

"If Reclamation does reduce releases from the dam, the water remaining in the lake would last until mid-March for the agencies, like hers, that depend on it – assuming no storms arrive in the meantime. At that point, Folsom Lake’s water level will have dropped below 100,000 acre-feet, which is too low for San Juan, Folsom, Roseville and others to draw water from the lake without rigging some kind of emergency pumps."

I have posted a number of times on the forum that I feel Phoenix will be the first American city that will be essentially abandoned due to a lack of water to support a concentrated urban population in the desert. Of course, I do not have the requisite knowledge to actually support such a statement. It comes  from the gut. Reading this article, particularly the role that the months long stationary high over the north Pacific has had on the low precipitation rates, I can't help but wonder if much of the southwest, including large portions of California will suffer such a fate, perhaps not this century but certainly early in the next.

Shared Humanity

  • Guest
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #29 on: January 04, 2014, 05:00:13 PM »
Snow lacking at Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Mountains.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Sunny-Sierra-raises-chilling-drought-fears-5109706.php#page-1

From the linked article:

"It has been so dry now for 13 months that the entire picture does not look very good," Rizzardo said. "We're talking about things we've never seen before."

Are we more likely to see these things in the future? Could this possibly be the new normal?

What might the impact be? We will lose the agriculture first. All of those fresh vegetables that Americans have grown accustom to eating throughout the winter will disappear from grocery shelves. Our diets will become  more seasonal as they were 50 years ago.

JackTaylor

  • Frazil ice
  • Posts: 209
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #30 on: January 04, 2014, 05:59:50 PM »

Are we more likely to see these things in the future? Could this possibly be the new normal?


If the dry period (drought) continues "the new normal" has not been seen. Much worse.

Fresh fruits - vegetables are just part of the equation - think of frozen and canned also.


Laurent

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 2546
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 13
  • Likes Given: 50
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #31 on: January 04, 2014, 06:41:04 PM »
See that link and watch very carefully the site that you want to check !
This is not the futur but the past, nevertheless it can help us predict the futur.
The futur is not certain but if you want do your own prediction that's a good start !
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/GlobalMaps/view.php?d1=MOD11C1_M_LSTDA

Shared Humanity

  • Guest
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #32 on: January 04, 2014, 07:01:17 PM »
See that link and watch very carefully the site that you want to check !
This is not the futur but the past, nevertheless it can help us predict the futur.
The futur is not certain but if you want do your own prediction that's a good start !
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/GlobalMaps/view.php?d1=MOD11C1_M_LSTDA

I would argue it is the present as the article states that in December only 10% of the normal precipitation was received. As for predicting the future, I admitted my crystal ball is broken.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #33 on: January 14, 2014, 02:48:12 PM »
Not exactly a lake, but water-supply related:  Plant in California turns sewage into potable water.  Then (mostly for psychological reasons) pumps it underground.

Quote
Today, the [Orange County water] district's Groundwater Replenishment System processes 70 million gallons of treated wastewater into pure, potable water every day, which is enough to meet the needs of about 600,000 people. The water is used to replenish the district's aquifer, thus limiting the need to rely on more expensive and unreliable imported water from Northern California and the Colorado River.

http://t.nbcnews.com/science/parched-southwest-reclaimed-sewage-water-could-be-welcome-relief-2D11915652
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #34 on: January 16, 2014, 12:42:13 AM »
@NWSSacramento: See the latest update on the major reservoirs of California.
Map with reservoir data.
http://t.co/YxPCvrhG6l
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

JimD

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 2272
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 6
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #35 on: January 16, 2014, 05:11:39 PM »
On the news here last night they showed a graphic on how much snow is in the Sierra's compared to normal.  There is just not much snow up there to fill those lakes.  They are having big fire problems again in CA as well.
We do not err because truth is difficult to see. It is visible at a glance. We err because this is more comfortable. Alexander Solzhenitsyn

How is it conceivable that all our technological progress - our very civilization - is like the axe in the hand of the pathological criminal? Albert Einstein

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #36 on: January 28, 2014, 09:28:42 PM »
Shrinking Lake Michigan deprives islands of waterfront and tourism.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/01/28/3193301/climate-change-draining-great-lakes/
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Shared Humanity

  • Guest
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #37 on: January 28, 2014, 11:45:16 PM »
Shrinking Lake Michigan deprives islands of waterfront and tourism.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/01/28/3193301/climate-change-draining-great-lakes/

I've vacationed on Washington Island. It is an amazing place.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #38 on: February 04, 2014, 12:42:28 AM »
Dramatic decline in northern Alaska lake ice in the last 20 years.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/02/03/3238391/alaska-ice-retreat/
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #39 on: June 07, 2014, 01:15:10 AM »
"...as of June 2, there’s never been so little water behind Hoover Dam since its construction in the 1930s.  That’s a problem, because [Las] Vegas gets 90 percent of its water from Lake Mead."

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/06/05/lake_mead_which_supplies_most_of_las_vegas_water_is_at_record_low_levels.html
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #40 on: July 21, 2014, 06:05:04 PM »
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #41 on: August 03, 2014, 04:54:49 PM »
Toledo, Ohio area water customers under water emergency due to Harmful Algae Bloom on Lake Erie. 
Do Not Boil order:  Boiling the water concentrates the poison!

http://www.toledonewsnow.com/story/26178506/breaking-urgent-notice

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/07/10/Forecasters-say-Lake-Erie-will-experience-significant-algae-bloom.html
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #42 on: December 22, 2015, 05:19:24 PM »
Rising lake temperatures may worsen algae blooms
Quote
Some of the world’s biggest temperature jumps are happening in lakes — suggesting that problems such as algae blooms and low-oxygen zones hazardous to fish will get worse, a new report says.

An analysis of 235 lakes that together hold more than half of the Earth’s fresh surface water found they have been warming an average of 0.61 degrees per decade, the report said. While seemingly insignificant, the increase is bigger than changes recorded in the oceans or the atmosphere.

Such rapid swings can affect aquatic ecosystems in profound ways, raising concerns about the quality of waters that people rely on for drinking supplies, crop irrigation and energy production.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/our-lakes-are-warming-too-and-thats-bad-for-humans-and-fish/2015/12/20/0de0e830-a5a3-11e5-ad3f-991ce3374e23_story.html
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #43 on: January 09, 2016, 06:28:11 PM »
From December:  Bolivia Declares Disappearance of Lake a National Disaster
Quote
Bolivia’s second largest lake has dried up with devastating impacts, proving that financial support from the European Union was not enough to save the high-altitude saltwater ecosystem of Bolivia’s Lake Poopo prompting local authorities to declare a national disaster, local media reported Sunday.
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivia-Declares-Disappearance-of-Lake-a-National-Disaster-20151220-0011.html
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #44 on: February 21, 2016, 08:58:09 PM »
Mild Winter Keeps U.S. Great Lakes Ice Cover Low, causes stunnng lake effect snow.
Quote
This week, parts of Oswego County in New York got a stunning 3 feet of lake effect snow. It was a rare event for a February and one that can be pinned to near “rock bottom” ice cover on the Great Lakes, as one scientist put it.

Ice cover on the lakes stood at a mere 12 percent as of Feb. 11 (compared to 63 percent at the same time last year) thanks to unusually mild weather so far this winter.

Such sparse ice cover is likely to be the norm in the future as the ice continues the decline of recent decades caused by rising air and lake temperatures fueled by climate change. That could mean more late winter lake effect snows, as well as putting coastal communities and wildlife at risk from winter storms that the ice would normally buffer against.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/mild-winter-great-lakes-ice-cover-low-20028
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #45 on: February 26, 2016, 02:20:21 AM »
Florida Officials Drain Lake Full Of ‘Toilet’ Water To Coast
Quote
With tourist season just around the corner, Florida’s beach communities would normally be preparing for a happy, healthy summer. Instead, they’re reeling from polluted water that is likely to inflict severe damage to the local economy and environment.

Lake Okeechobee, a large inland lake in southern Florida, is experiencing its highest water levels in nearly a century due to heavy rains that fell during the month of January. This should not be suprising, because heavy rainfall events are increasing as the planet warms. But after water levels reached a foot above normal, public officials began to worry that the excess water was putting too much stress on the lake’s aging dike. Officials then made the decision to drain the lake out toward Florida’s coasts. There was one problem: Lake Okeechobee’s waters are toxic.

Local industry has long been using Okeechobee’s waters as a dumping ground for an assortment of chemicals, fertilizers, and cattle manure. David Guest, managing attorney of the Florida branch of the environmental law group Earthjustice, called the lake a “toilet.” While the pollution was once confined to the lake, it now flows toward Florida’s coastal communities via local rivers. The water, which is flowing out of the lake at 70,000 gallons per second, will soon pollute the ocean waters in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/02/25/3753365/okeechobee-beach-water-pollution/
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

sidd

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6774
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1047
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #46 on: February 26, 2016, 05:46:41 AM »
W have been poisoning the Everglades for a long time. Perhaps the rising ocean will wash it clean. A few millennia after it drowns. Or longer.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #47 on: July 23, 2016, 07:13:08 PM »
Toxic Algae Closes Utah Lake, Sickens 100
Quote
A huge toxic algae bloom in Utah has closed one of the largest freshwater lakes west of the Mississippi River, sickening more than 100 people and leaving farmers scrambling for clean water during some of the hottest days of the year.

The bacteria commonly known as blue-green algae has spread rapidly to cover almost all of 150-square-mile Utah Lake, turning the water bright, anti-freeze green with a pea soup texture and leaving scummy foam along the shore.
...
The contamination has now spread to the Jordan River, which supplies irrigation to dozens of farmers around Salt Lake City, about 45 miles north of the lake. The problem has occurred amid days of triple-digit temperatures as growers prepare for farmers markets and try to nurture crops such as corn and fruit trees at key points in their development.

"We've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on this crop, maxed out every dollar we have," said Luke Petersen, who farms about 100 acres of tomatoes, summer squash and other produce in Riverton. "We're real worried about it."
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/toxic-algae-closes-utah-lake-sickens-100-n615216
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #48 on: September 22, 2017, 01:39:06 AM »
Lake Tahoe is losing its famous clarity A crystal-clear example of climate change's effects on lakes.
Quote
...
Geoff Schladow directs the University of California Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center. He says visitors to Lake Tahoe often admire its crystal-clear water. But the lake is losing its famous clarity. 50 years ago, you could see 100 feet down, now it’s more like 70.

One cause is silt and clay washing in from nearby development. But climate change is also a cause. As the lake warms, microscopic algae grow and reduce the water’s clarity.

If the water gets too warm, native fish could die off. And invasive species and harmful algae could flourish. And it’s not just Tahoe, either.

Schladow: “Lakes are warming at different rates but almost one hundred percent of them are warming.” ...
https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2017/09/lake-tahoe-is-losing-its-famous-clarity/
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Lake Effects
« Reply #49 on: October 01, 2017, 06:38:28 PM »
High resolution Landsat8 image of a harmful algal bloom in western Lake Erie taken yesterday, with zoomed in views of three areas. Read more in the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory Lake Erie Harmful Algal Bloom Bulletin:
https://www.facebook.com/NASAOcean/posts/1930098373982576

Additional links at the link.
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.