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
- 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
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.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