As one of several Focus Area Studies within the USGS National Water Census (NWC), the USGS has completed a 3-year study of water availability and use in the Colorado River Basin.
National Water Census • Colorado River Basin • Evapotranspiration • Snowpack • Water Use • Groundwater Discharge
The Colorado River is about 1,450 miles long, with headwaters in Colorado and Wyoming, and eventually flows across the international border into Mexico. The drainage basin area of about 246,000 square miles includes all of Arizona, and parts of California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. The Colorado River is an important water resource for areas outside of the basin, including Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, and San Diego for public (municipal) supply, and the Imperial Valley in California for agricultural water supplies. The river and its tributaries provide water to nearly 40 million people, both within and outside of the basin, and irrigates nearly 5.5 million acres of agricultural lands (Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study (usbr.gov, 2012)).
Water management is governed by a complex system of international treaties, interstate compacts, and Supreme Court decrees. The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) plays a major role in the control and distribution of surface water within the Colorado River Basin through management of large Federal water projects like Glen Canyon Dam (Lake Powell) and Hoover Dam (Lake Mead).
In discussions with Reclamation and its partners, the Focus Area Study identified several components of the water budget in the Colorado River Basin for in-depth focused study.
National Water Census • Colorado River Basin • Evapotranspiration • Snowpack • Water Use • Groundwater Discharge
Below are related science components of the Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study.
National Water Census
Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Evapotranspiration
Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Snowpack Hydrodynamics
Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Water Use
Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Groundwater discharge to streams
Below are publications associated with the Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study.
Estimates of water use and trends in the Colorado River Basin, Southwestern United States, 1985–2010
Snow sublimation in mountain environments and its sensitivity to forest disturbance and climate warming
Comparison of U.S. Geological Survey and Bureau of Reclamation water-use reporting in the Colorado River Basin
Increasing aeolian dust deposition to snowpacks in the Rocky Mountains inferred from snowpack, wet deposition, and aerosol chemistry
Comparison of methods for quantifying surface sublimation over seasonally snow-covered terrain
Characterization of mean transit time at large springs in the Upper Colorado River Basin, USA: A tool for assessing groundwater discharge vulnerability
The importance of base flow in sustaining surface water flow in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Evaluating Landsat 8 evapotranspiration for water use mapping in the Colorado River Basin
U.S. Geological Survey National Water Census: Colorado River Basin Geographic Focus Area Study
Regional scale estimates of baseflow and factors influencing baseflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin
A new approach for continuous estimation of baseflow using discrete water quality data: Method description and comparison with baseflow estimates from two existing approaches
On the downscaling of actual evapotranspiration maps based on combination of MODIS and landsat-based actual evapotranspiration estimates
- Overview
As one of several Focus Area Studies within the USGS National Water Census (NWC), the USGS has completed a 3-year study of water availability and use in the Colorado River Basin.
National Water Census • Colorado River Basin • Evapotranspiration • Snowpack • Water Use • Groundwater Discharge
The Colorado River is about 1,450 miles long, with headwaters in Colorado and Wyoming, and eventually flows across the international border into Mexico. The drainage basin area of about 246,000 square miles includes all of Arizona, and parts of California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. The Colorado River is an important water resource for areas outside of the basin, including Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, and San Diego for public (municipal) supply, and the Imperial Valley in California for agricultural water supplies. The river and its tributaries provide water to nearly 40 million people, both within and outside of the basin, and irrigates nearly 5.5 million acres of agricultural lands (Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study (usbr.gov, 2012)).
Water management is governed by a complex system of international treaties, interstate compacts, and Supreme Court decrees. The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) plays a major role in the control and distribution of surface water within the Colorado River Basin through management of large Federal water projects like Glen Canyon Dam (Lake Powell) and Hoover Dam (Lake Mead).
In discussions with Reclamation and its partners, the Focus Area Study identified several components of the water budget in the Colorado River Basin for in-depth focused study.
National Water Census • Colorado River Basin • Evapotranspiration • Snowpack • Water Use • Groundwater Discharge
- Science
Below are related science components of the Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study.
National Water Census
The National Water Census will deliver routinely updated water availability information in the United States.Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Evapotranspiration
New USGS-developed, remote-sensing based approaches were used to quantify agricultural irrigation water consumption on a field-by-field scale. The work produced the first ever Colorado River Basin-wide, 100-m scale actual ET estimate (2010) using Landsat imagery.Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Snowpack Hydrodynamics
The Focus Area Study examined factors affecting snowpack distribution, snowmelt, and losses of snowpack water due to sublimation in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Also, as part of the FAS, the USGS has developed methods to make physical measurements of snowpack sublimation.Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Water Use
Water-use data were compiled as annual total withdrawals by source and aggregated to 8-digit Hydrologic Unit Code watersheds from 1985 to 2010 in five year intervals. The new compilation allows for an evaluation of water-use trends in the Colorado River Basin and the effect of use on the water budget.Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Groundwater discharge to streams
Methods were developed in the CRB FAS to estimate groundwater discharge to streams in the upper Colorado River Basin (UCBR) using in-stream water-quality data. Results indicate groundwater discharge to streams contributes an average of 48 percent of total streamflow in the UCRB. - Publications
Below are publications associated with the Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study.
Filter Total Items: 17Estimates of water use and trends in the Colorado River Basin, Southwestern United States, 1985–2010
The Colorado River Basin (CRB) drains 246,000 square miles and includes parts of California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, and all of Arizona (Basin States). This report contains water-use estimates by category of use for drainage basins (Hydrologic Unit Code 8; HUC‑8) within the CRB from 1985 to 2010, at 5-year intervals. Estimates for public supply, domestic, commercial, indusAuthorsMolly A. Maupin, Tamara I. Ivahnenko, Breton BruceSnow sublimation in mountain environments and its sensitivity to forest disturbance and climate warming
Snow sublimation is an important component of the snow mass balance, but the spatial and temporal variability of this process is not well understood in mountain environments. This study combines a process‐based snow model (SnowModel) with eddy covariance (EC) measurements to investigate (1) the spatio‐temporal variability of simulated snow sublimation with respect to station observations, (2) theAuthorsGraham A. Sexstone, David W. Clow, Steven R. Fassnacht, Glen E. Liston, Christopher A. Hiemstra, John F. Knowles, Colin A. PennComparison of U.S. Geological Survey and Bureau of Reclamation water-use reporting in the Colorado River Basin
The use of water in the United States is arguably one of the most important factors determining water availability at any specific place and time. Numerous local, State, and Federal entities develop, compile, and report water-use data, which can lead to confusing or conflicting information. This report was authored jointly by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Bureau of Reclamation (ReclamationAuthorsBreton Bruce, James Prairie, Molly A. Maupin, Jeremy Dodds, David Eckhardt, Tamara I. Ivahnenko, Paul Matuska, Eric Evenson, Alan HarrisonIncreasing aeolian dust deposition to snowpacks in the Rocky Mountains inferred from snowpack, wet deposition, and aerosol chemistry
Mountain snowpacks are a vital natural resource for ∼1.5 billion people in the northern Hemisphere, helping to meet human and ecological demand for water in excess of that provided by summer rain. Springtime warming and aeolian dust deposition accelerate snowmelt, increasing the risk of water shortages during late summer, when demand is greatest. While climate networks provide data that can be useAuthorsDavid W. Clow, Mark W. Williams, Paul F. SchusterComparison of methods for quantifying surface sublimation over seasonally snow-covered terrain
Snow sublimation can be an important component of the snow-cover mass balance, and there is considerable interest in quantifying the role of this process within the water and energy balance of snow-covered regions. In recent years, robust eddy covariance (EC) instrumentation has been used to quantify snow sublimation over snow-covered surfaces in complex mountainous terrain. However, EC can be chaAuthorsGraham A. Sexstone, David W. Clow, David I. Stannard, Steven R. FassnachtCharacterization of mean transit time at large springs in the Upper Colorado River Basin, USA: A tool for assessing groundwater discharge vulnerability
Environmental tracers (noble gases, tritium, industrial gases, stable isotopes, and radio-carbon) and hydrogeology were interpreted to determine groundwater transit-time distribution and calculate mean transit time (MTT) with lumped parameter modeling at 19 large springs distributed throughout the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB), USA. The predictive value of the MTT to evaluate the pattern and tAuthorsJohn E. Solder, Bernard J. Stolp, Victor M. Heilweil, David D. SusongThe importance of base flow in sustaining surface water flow in the Upper Colorado River Basin
The Colorado River has been identified as the most overallocated river in the world. Considering predicted future imbalances between water supply and demand and the growing recognition that base flow (a proxy for groundwater discharge to streams) is critical for sustaining flow in streams and rivers, there is a need to develop methods to better quantify present-day base flow across large regions.AuthorsMatthew P. Miller, Susan G. Buto, David D. Susong, Christine RumseyEvaluating Landsat 8 evapotranspiration for water use mapping in the Colorado River Basin
Evapotranspiration (ET) mapping at the Landsat spatial resolution (100 m) is essential to fully understand water use and water availability at the field scale. Water use estimates in the Colorado River Basin (CRB), which has diverse ecosystems and complex hydro-climatic regions, will be helpful to water planners and managers. Availability of Landsat 8 images, starting in 2013, provides the opportuAuthorsGabriel Senay, MacKenzie Friedrichs, Ramesh K. Singh, Naga Manohar VelpuriU.S. Geological Survey National Water Census: Colorado River Basin Geographic Focus Area Study
Introduction The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) concept of a national census (or accounting) of water resources has evolved over the last several decades as the Nation has experienced increasing concern over water availability for multiple competing uses. The implementation of a USGS National Water Census was described in the USGS 2007 science strategy document that identified the highest prioritAuthorsBreton W. Bruce, David W. Clow, Molly A. Maupin, Matthew P. Miller, Gabriel B. Senay, Graham A. Sexstone, David D. SusongRegional scale estimates of baseflow and factors influencing baseflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Study region The study region encompasses the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB), which provides water for 40 million people and is a vital part of the water supply in the western U.S. Study focus Groundwater and surface water can be considered a single water resource and thus it is important to understand groundwater contributions to streamflow, or baseflow, within a region. Previously, quantificAuthorsChristine Rumsey, Matthew P. Miller, David D. Susong, Fred D. Tillman, David W. AnningA new approach for continuous estimation of baseflow using discrete water quality data: Method description and comparison with baseflow estimates from two existing approaches
Understanding how watershed characteristics and climate influence the baseflow component of stream discharge is a topic of interest to both the scientific and water management communities. Therefore, the development of baseflow estimation methods is a topic of active research. Previous studies have demonstrated that graphical hydrograph separation (GHS) and conductivity mass balance (CMB) methodsAuthorsMatthew P. Miller, Henry M. Johnson, David D. Susong, David M. WolockOn the downscaling of actual evapotranspiration maps based on combination of MODIS and landsat-based actual evapotranspiration estimates
Downscaling is one of the important ways of utilizing the combined benefits of the high temporal resolution of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images and fine spatial resolution of Landsat images. We have evaluated the output regression with intercept method and developed the Linear with Zero Intercept (LinZI) method for downscaling MODIS-based monthly actual evapotranspiratAuthorsRamesh K. Singh, Gabriel B. Senay, Naga Manohar Velpuri, Stefanie Bohms, James P. Verdin