US EditionGroundwater Supplies Are Plunging Across the Colorado River Basin: Study
- Researchers at Arizona State University published a 2025 study revealing rapid groundwater depletion across the Colorado River Basin, covering seven U.S. states and northern Mexico.
- The study found groundwater losses have accelerated, averaging three times faster depletion from 2015 to 2024, driven by heavy agricultural pumping and drying Southwest conditions.
- Groundwater depletion, amounting to about 34 cubic kilometers since 2003, exceeds surface reservoir declines at Lake Mead and Powell, which are now two-thirds empty.
- Karem Abdelmohsen, the lead author, highlighted that groundwater levels in the Colorado River Basin are declining rapidly, while senior author Jay Famiglietti emphasized that climate change is intensifying the pressure on these diminishing water resources.
- The study implies urgent water management reforms, including potential permanent farmland reductions and shifting to less water-intensive crops, to prevent severe shortages threatening farms, cities, and markets.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Groundwater is rapidly declining in the Colorado River Basin, satellite data show
As the Colorado River's giant reservoirs have declined during the last two decades, even larger amounts of water have been pumped and drained from underground, according to new research based on data from NASA satellites.
Colorado River State Historic Park to unveil new exhibit
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - The Colorado River State Historic Park is holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new exhibit this week. Taking place this Thursday, May 29, at 10:00 a.m., the exhibit is called "The Colorado River: Lifeblood of the Yuma Community," which is installed in the Corral House building, "the original home of the Bureau of Reclamation in Yuma." According to the park, "The exhibit will delve into a variety of themes, including…
Groundwater supplies are plunging across the Colorado River Basin: Study
The Colorado River Basin’s groundwater supplies are dwindling, thanks to a combination of both natural events and human pumping activities, a new study has found. The critical Western system has lost about 42 million acre-feet of water storage since 2003 — with 65 percent of those declines, or 28 million acre-feet, attributable to groundwater depletion,…
Satellite images show that the water level in the basin of one of America's largest rivers has dropped significantly.
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