Colorado River Basin Water Management: Evaluating and Adjusting to Hydroclimatic Variability - Hardcover

National Research Council; Division On Earth And Life Studies; Water Science And Technology Board; Committee On The Scientific Bases Of Colorado River Basin Water Management

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0309105242 ISBN 13: 9780309105248

Publisher: National Academies Press, 2007

Synopsis

Recent studies of past climate and streamflow conditions have broadened understanding of long-term water availability in the Colorado River, revealing many periods when streamflow was lower than at any time in the past 100 years of recorded flows. That information, along with two important trends--a rapid increase in urban populations in the West and significant climate warming in the region--will require that water managers prepare for possible reductions in water supplies that cannot be fully averted through traditional means. Colorado River Basin Water Management assesses existing scientific information, including temperature and streamflow records, tree-ring based reconstructions, and climate model projections, and how it relates to Colorado River water supplies and demands, water management, and drought preparedness. The book concludes that successful adjustments to new conditions will entail strong and sustained cooperation among the seven Colorado River basin states and recommends conducting a comprehensive basinwide study of urban water practices that can be used to help improve planning for future droughts and water shortages.

About this title

About the Author

Committee on the Scientific Bases of Colorado River Basin Water Management, National Research Council

Edition details

• Publisher: National Academies Press
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0309105242
• ISBN 13: 9780309105248
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 222