2022 McKinney rain-on-wildfire event, dissolved oxygen sags, and a fish kill on the Klamath River, California

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | July 9th, 2025

2025 Annual Operating Plan for Colorado River Reservoirs

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | October 31st, 2024

Each year’s Annual Operating Plan (AOP) for Colorado River Reservoirs reports both on the past operations of the Colorado River reservoirs for the completed year and pr

Each year’s Annual Operating Plan (AOP) for Colorado River Reservoirs reports both on the past operations of the Colorado River reservoirs for the completed year and projected operations and releases from these reservoirs for the current (i.e., upcoming) year. Accordingly, this 2025 AOP reports on 2024 operations as well as projected operations for 2025. In recent years, additions to the Law of the River such as operational rules, guidelines, and decisions have been put into place for Colorado River reservoirs including the 1996 Glen Canyon Dam Record of Decision (ROD), the Operating Criteria for Glen Canyon Dam, the 1999 Off-stream Storage of Colorado River Water Rule (43 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Part 414), the 2001 Interim Surplus Guidelines addressing operation of Hoover Dam, the 2006 Flaming Gorge Dam ROD, the 2006 Navajo Dam ROD to implement recommended flows for endangered fish, the 2007 Interim Guidelines for the operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the 2012 Aspinall ROD, the 2016 Glen Canyon Dam Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan Environmental Impact Statement and ROD (2016 LTEMP EIS ROD), Minutes No. 323 and 330 between the United States and Mexican Sections of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), the agreements related to the 2019 Colorado River Drought Contingency Plans (DCPs)12 as authorized by Public Law 116,  the 2024 Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for Near-term Colorado River Operations ROD (2024 Interim Guidelines SEIS ROD), and the 2024 Glen Canyon Dam Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision (2024 LTEMP SEIS ROD).  Each AOP incorporates these and other rules, guidelines, and decisions, and reports on how the criteria contained in the applicable decision document or documents are implemented. Thus, the AOP makes projections and reports on how the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) will implement these decisions in response to changing water supply conditions as they unfold during the upcoming year, when conditions become known. Congress has charged the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) with stewardship and responsibility for a wide range of natural, cultural, recreational, and tribal resources within the Colorado River Basin. The Secretary has the authority to operate and maintain Reclamation facilities within the Colorado River Basin addressed in this AOP to help manage these resources and accomplish their protection and enhancement in a manner fully consistent with applicable provisions of federal law including the Law of the River, applicable provisions of State law, and other project-specific operational limitations. The Secretary recognized in the 2007 Interim Guidelines that the AOP provides an integrated report on reservoir operations affected by numerous federal policies: "The AOP is used to memorialize operational decisions that are made pursuant to individual federal actions (e.g., ISG [the 2001 Interim Surplus Guidelines], 1996 Glen Canyon Dam ROD, this [2007 Interim Guidelines] ROD). Thus, the AOP serves as a single, integrated reference document required by section 602(b) of the CRBPA of 1968 [Colorado River Basin Project Act of September 30, 1968 (Public Law 90-537)]16 regarding past and anticipated operations."

A Case Study in Interstate Resource Management: The California-Nevada Water Controversy, 1865-1955

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | May 1st, 1973

A Measure of Snow: A Report Based on Case Studies of The Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting Program

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) | November 1st, 2008

Snow depth and snow water content data have been collected and disseminated throughout the Western United States for over 100 years. Early snow survey and water s

Snow depth and snow water content data have been collected and disseminated throughout the Western United States for over 100 years. Early snow survey and water supply data were gathered through the efforts of university scientists, beginning with the work of Dr. James E. Church. In 1935, the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), now the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), established a formal cooperative Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting (SS-WSF) Program. The Agency was charged with responsibility for “conducting snow survey and water supply forecasts and the forecasting of irrigation water supplies.” The new Program would also develop consistent methods for measuring snow and reliable models for accurate water supply forecasting. Administered by NRCS, the SS-WSF Program has grown into a network of more than 1,200 manually-measured snow courses and over 750 automated Snowpack Telemetry (SNOTEL) weather stations in 13 Western States, including Alaska. (See map on page 4.) The SS-WSF Program provides manual snow course data collected by NRCS conservation professionals, automated SNOTEL data, and modeled water supply/streamflow volume data as well as issues streamflow forecasts for over 740 locations in the West. The data and the related reports and forecasts, are made available—in near real time for the automated SNOTEL sites—to private industry; to Federal, State, and local government entities; and to private citizens through an extensive Internet delivery system and other distribution channels. With 50-80 percent of the water supply in the West arriving in the form of snow, data on the snowpack provides critical information to decision-makers and water managers throughout the West. The basic data become even more valuable when used in concert with partner organizations to provide water supply forecasting tailored to meet end-user needs. According to researchers from multiple U.S. and international agencies, research centers, and academia, changes in the world’s climate have resulted in a loss of predictability in weather, precipitation, and water transport and accumulation patterns. It is anticipated that the value the SS-WSF Program provides to society will increase over time as climate variability increases. Recently a study was done to see who uses SS-WSF data, how the data are used, and the value of the data. Users of the data were interviewed and specific events and activities were analyzed. This publication is based on that study.

A rationale for effective post-fire debris flow mitigation within forested terrain

Geoenvironmental Disasters (Springer) | May 25th, 2018

Watersheds recently burned by wildfires are recognized as having an increased susceptibility to debris flow occurrence. The great majority occur within the first 2 years

Watersheds recently burned by wildfires are recognized as having an increased susceptibility to debris flow occurrence. The great majority occur within the first 2 years following wildfires. These debris flows are generated primarily through the process of progressive entrainment of material eroded from hillslopes and channels by surface runoff and appears independent of the vegetative community burned. The decreased likelihood of debris flows over time is linked to the restoration of hydrologic function as vegetative cover and soil infiltration functioning return to pre-fire conditions. An exception to this pattern of post-wildfire debris flow susceptibility occurs in burned drainage basins with forest cover. A second, later period of increased debris flow susceptibility due to infiltration-triggered landslides can occur in burned forested basins. This later period of debris flow susceptibility is largely attributable to the fire-induced tree mortality and subsequent decay of tree root networks decreasing soil strength on steep hillslopes which produces an increased likelihood of debris flow occurrence 3 to 10 or more years after the wildfire. Consequently, post-fire mitigation measures in forested terrain must address the risk posed by debris flows caused by progressive entrainment during the 2 years following the wildfire and debris flows due to infiltration-induced debris slides three or more years later. Mitigation for the later debris flows in forested terrain involves identification of areas with infiltration-induced debris slides coincident with concentrations of fire-killed trees. Timely reforestation of these areas after a wildfire limits the loss of soil strength from decaying roots.

A Review of the History of Water Use throughout the Klamath River Basin

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | April 15th, 2003

Water in the Klamath River Basin has been put to use by humans for thousands of years. Beginning with Indian tribes that lived in the area, who used the rivers for fishin

Water in the Klamath River Basin has been put to use by humans for thousands of years. Beginning with Indian tribes that lived in the area, who used the rivers for fishing through to the European settlers who used water for mining or agriculture, Klamath water has been recognized as a precious resource. Many conflicts have risen over the past two centuries as a result. This paper will discuss the uses of water throughout the history of the Klamath River Basin culminating in the Klamath Project and its effects leading to the current Klamath Basin ‘crisis’ .

A study of methods to estimate debris flow velocity

Landslides (Springer) | September 16th, 2019

Debris flow velocities are commonly back-calculated from superelevation events which require subjective estimates of radii of curvature of bends in the debris flow channe

Debris flow velocities are commonly back-calculated from superelevation events which require subjective estimates of radii of curvature of bends in the debris flow channel or predicted using flow equations that require the selection of appropriate rheological models and material property inputs. This research investigated difficulties associated with the use of these conventional velocity estimation methods. Radii of curvature estimates were found to vary with the extent of the channel investigated and with the scale of the media used, and back-calculated velocities varied among different investigated locations along a channel. Distinct populations of Bingham properties were found to exist between those measured by laboratory tests and those back-calculated from field data; thus, laboratory-obtained values would not be representative of field-scale debris flow behavior. To avoid these difficulties with conventional methods, a new preliminary velocity estimation method is presented that statistically relates flow velocity to the channel slope and the flow depth. This method presents ranges of reasonable velocity predictions based on 30 previously measured velocities.

Adapting to Climate Change: Catching and Moving Water from Big Storms

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | February 15th, 2024

Alternative management paradigms for the future of the Colorado and Green Rivers

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) | January 28th, 2021

The Colorado River is among the most extensively managed river systems in the world. The river’s headwaters are within the Rocky Mountains in the United States. From t

The Colorado River is among the most extensively managed river systems in the world. The river’s headwaters are within the Rocky Mountains in the United States. From there, it flows through the arid lands of the Colorado Plateau and the Basin-and-Range to its delta in northwestern Mexico. Here, the river is the only significant water supply in an otherwise starkly arid landscape and has long been called “America’s Nile.” It provides a critical water supply for nearly four million acres of irrigated land, municipal supplies for 30 million people located within and outside the basin, and more than 4,200 MW of hydropower generation capacity. The Colorado River and some of its tributaries also provide an existing or potential water supply for at least 15 Native American tribes. The river flows through seven National Wildlife Refuges, four National Recreation Areas, and five National Parks. Today, the annual consumptive uses and losses of streamflow in the basin typically exceed the amount of water available, and the river rarely flows into the Gulf of California. The impacts of climate change are likely to decrease future runoff and intensify droughts, thereby threatening current and future uses in the basin. Clearly, new ways of thinking about and managing the river need to be sought and implemented.

Alternatives Report Post-2026 Operational Guidelines and Strategies for Lake Powell and Lake Mead

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | January 17th, 2025

In December 2007 the Secretary of the Interior adopted coordinated operating guidelines for operation of Glen Canyon Dam and Hoover Dam for an interim period that expires

In December 2007 the Secretary of the Interior adopted coordinated operating guidelines for operation of Glen Canyon Dam and Hoover Dam for an interim period that expires in 2026. To address long-term Colorado River operations after the expiration of these guidelines, the United States Department of the Interior initiated a National Environmental Policy Act process on June 16, 2023, to develop and adopt successor domestic guidelines and agreements for the operation of Glen Canyon Dam and Hoover Dam to take effect in mid-2026, before the current operational framework expires. On November 20, 2024, the Bureau of Reclamation published the range of alternatives planned for analysis in the draft environmental impact statement and committed to providing additional information in a subsequent report. This report describes these alternatives and the process for developing them in more detail. The alternatives were developed over the past year and incorporate considerable input received from the Colorado River Basin States, Colorado River Basin Tribes, conservation organizations, other federal agencies, and other stakeholders during that time. Throughout 2024, the Bureau of Reclamation worked extensively with these key partners to integrate their input into the range of alternatives. The alternatives identified in this report provide a reasonable and broad range of Colorado River operations that capture an appropriate range of potential environmental impacts from implementing new operational guidelines post-2026. Click here for USBR notes on the alternatives development process.