US reservoir could be dry by 2017
The United States' largest man-made lake and reservoir could run dry in less
than 15 years as a result of climate change and water demand, a study has
concluded.
Researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of
California, said that even under their most conservative estimates, they
believe there is a 50% chance that Lake Mead, situated about 30 miles South
East of Las Vegas, will dry up by 2021.
The reservoir, which is created by the Hoover Dam, is a key source of water
for millions of people in South Western US.
Research marine physicist Tim Barnett and climate scientist David Pierce
said without Lake Mead and the neighbouring Lake Powell, the Colorado River
system will have no buffer to sustain the population during an unusually dry
year or drought.
They concluded that human demand, evaporation and man-made climate change
are creating a deficit of nearly 1m acre-feet of water per year from the
Colorado River system, including the two lakes - a body of water that could
supply about 8m people.
In a paper published in the Water Resources Research journal, the
scientists also estimated a 10% chance that Lake Mead would be dry by 2014
and a 50% chance that reservoir levels will be too low to allow
hydroelectric power generation by 2017.
Contact information |
Kate Martin, EDIE News
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News type | Inbrief |
File link |
http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=14216&channel=4 |
Source of information | Edie News |
Keyword(s) | climate change, drought |
Subject(s) | ENERGY , HYDRAULICS - HYDROLOGY , RISKS AND CLIMATOLOGY , WATER DEMAND |
Relation | http://www.emwis.net/topics/climatechange |
Geographical coverage | United States |
News date | 20/02/2008 |
Working language(s) | ENGLISH |