Jackson Lake Wyoming

[CowboyRam]

Took a little drive today to escape the heat of Riverton for a little while. Drove to Colter Bay for lunch, spent a little time to take a look at the lake. They pulled a lot of water out of the lake last year, and by August of 2021 Colter Bay didn't have any water. They never even opened the Bay this year.




Can't see much snow up on Mount Moran


Had to go to the spillway in order to find some water.





How Colter Bay should look. I took this photo about two years ago.

 

[Travlr]

Took a little drive today to escape the heat of Riverton for a little while. Drove to Colter Bay for lunch, spent a little time to take a look at the lake. They pulled a lot of water out of the lake last year, and by August of 2021 Colter Bay didn't have any water. They never even opened the Bay this year.


View attachment 20763

Can't see much snow up on Mount Moran
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Had to go to the spillway in order to find some water.

View attachment 20765

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How Colter Bay should look. I took this photo about two years ago.
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None of the reservoirs around here have any water in them. What I can't figure out is why they don't save the water at the top of the watershed before they send it downstream. It makes no sense.

 

[faster horses]

That's a huge difference!! Hoping and praying we get some big snows this winter. And every winter for a long time.

 

[kenny thomas]

Maybe it will get a ditch from the Mississippi River also.
Can't believe they are suggesting that.

 

[SmokinM]

No bueno!

Maybe it will get a ditch from the Mississippi River also.
Can't believe they are suggesting that.

Never underestimate the stupidity of a Californian. It is only a couple thousand miles, mostly uphill.

 

[CowboyRam]

Maybe it will get a ditch from the Mississippi River also.
Can't believe they are suggesting that.

I have already heard some talk about pulling water out of the Mississippi water shed and sending to the Colorado river.

 

[Travlr]

Maybe it will get a ditch from the Mississippi River also.
Can't believe they are suggesting that.

If you had as little water as the west you might better understand why. Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Flaming Gorge, the Great Salt Lake, and all the smaller reservoirs, are practically dry. So low they no longer generate electricity. And the Colorado river no longer reaches the pacific and hasn't for decades.

It's either get water from where it is or invade places that have water. You want everyone from Cali immigrating to where you live? Maybe you'd rather they dig a canal and pump water uphill..

 

[Rmc]

If you had as little water as the west you might better understand why. Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Flaming Gorge, the Great Salt Lake, and all the smaller reservoirs, are practically dry. So low they no longer generate electricity.

That is a bit extreme and not accurate description of the current situation.
Electric generation is still going on at all locations you mentioned.
Flaming Gorge is lower than normal because they have released far more water down stream then usual .Replace the water that the state of Utah stole from the area and ships to the populated wasatch front and never built the reservoirs as promised as part of the central Utah water project and you would have a total different situation.
Look at historical records . Fluctuating lake levels and flows are a regular occurrence historically.
In the 1980s they had water flowing down the main street in Salt Lake City.
And the genius's in government spent millions on a pump system to pump water from the great salt lake to the desert as flood prevention measures. But do to government efficiency by the time the pumps where built where only used a short time.
It's a great gimmick to compare the lake level today to what it was in the flooded years of the mid 1980's
Instead of a historical actual portrait . Take a look at the Great Salt Lake levels since the 1960s .
Is it lower yes . But a more realistic picture .

 

[kenny thomas]

If you had as little water as the west you might better understand why. Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Flaming Gorge, the Great Salt Lake, and all the smaller reservoirs, are practically dry. So low they no longer generate electricity. And the Colorado river no longer reaches the pacific and hasn't for decades.

It's either get water from where it is or invade places that have water. You want everyone from Cali immigrating to where you live? Maybe you'd rather they dig a canal and pump water uphill..

I still say digging a ditch from the Mississippi is not the answer. Can you imagine how long that would take to complete.
Plus would it have less environmental impact than an oil pipeline that was canceled? I don't have the answer but that's not it. There is an ocean of water to the west and there must be a way to make it available to use.

 

[Dave]

For years they wanted to pump water from the Columbia River down to California. They were told to go pound sand.

 

[Travlr]

That is a bit extreme and not accurate description of the current situation.
Electric generation is still going on at all locations you mentioned.
Flaming Gorge is lower than normal because they have released far more water down stream then usual .Replace the water that the state of Utah stole from the area and ships to the populated wasatch front and never built the reservoirs as promised as part of the central Utah water project and you would have a total different situation.
Look at historical records . Fluctuating lake levels and flows are a regular occurrence historically.
In the 1980s they had water flowing down the main street in Salt Lake City.
And the genius's in government spent millions on a pump system to pump water from the great salt lake to the desert as flood prevention measures. But do to government efficiency by the time the pumps where built where only used a short time.
It's a great gimmick to compare the lake level today to what it was in the flooded years of the mid 1980's
Instead of a historical actual portrait . Take a look at the Great Salt Lake levels since the 1960s .
Is it lower yes . But a more realistic picture .

Is Lake Mead still generating power? My brother that was involved in the power grid around Boulder City told me last year that most of the turbines had been shut down and the last was due to be in July. Maybe they got some kind of Hail Mary that kept it up. Regardless, the lakes are so low that anyone with a brain is worried. They've even built a drain in the bottom of Mead so they can wring every last ounce (not accurate, a figure of speech) from the bottom.

And of course there are fluctuations (duh) but the degree of drought, the lack of snow/rain. the lack of accumulated snow pack, and the drying lakes streams, rivers, and even springs is troubling to those of us that live here.

The Great Salt Lake has NEVER been dry and it is expected to be completely dry. And yet they closed the Salt Flats for racing due to flooding this year. But that's more a condition of the Salt deteriorating than that there was any increase in water.

 

[CowboyRam]

We would not be where were if it was not for the environmentalist that stopped some of the dams that they were wanting to build. Environuts stopped the Cross Mountain/Juniper damns from going in on the Yampa River in northwest Colorado. We just need more water storage for these drought years. The Juniper damn would have backed water almost all the way to Craig. They used the Humpback Chub and Colorado Squawfish as and excuse to stop those two reservoirs. I am thinking that the environuts stopped a lot of reservoirs from being built, now they want to pull water from the Mississippi drainage. Here is an idea, lets build more dams here in the west.

 

[Rmc]

Is Lake Mead still generating power?
And of course there are fluctuations (duh) but the degree of drought, the lack of snow/rain. the lack of accumulated snow pack, and the drying lakes streams, rivers, and even springs is troubling to those of us that live here.

Yes lake mead is still producing power.
Maybe if you live there you should educate yourself more on historical data instead of following the sky is falling mentality.
Here is data from the nrcs showing snow pack accumulation as of feb 2022.
Note the area around flaming gorge is above average snow pack .much of the state was at or above normal snow pack levels.

It is not unusual for many lakes in the intermountain west to drop to 30-50 capacity in a normal year As most of these lakes are the only source of irrigation and drinking water.

 

[Rmc]

Studies say Great Salt Lake is not drying up due to climate change . But is due to increased population.

Science | AAAS

www.science.org

 

[Travlr]

We would not be where were if it was not for the environmentalist that stopped some of the dams that they were wanting to build. Environuts stopped the Cross Mountain/Juniper damns from going in on the Yampa River in northwest Colorado. We just need more water storage for these drought years. The Juniper damn would have backed water almost all the way to Craig. They used the Humpback Chub and Colorado Squawfish as and excuse to stop those two reservoirs. I am thinking that the environuts stopped a lot of reservoirs from being built, now they want to pull water from the Mississippi drainage. Here is an idea, lets build more dams here in the west.

I know you're heart's in the right place... but if we don't have the water to fill the dams we have, then where are we supposed to find the water to fill more dams?

The real problem is there are too many people flushing toilets and watering lawns.

 

[Travlr]

Yes lake mead is still producing power.
Maybe if you live there you should educate yourself more on historical data instead of following the sky is falling mentality.
Here is data from the nrcs showing snow pack accumulation as of feb 2022.
Note the area around flaming gorge is above average snow pack .much of the state was at or above normal snow pack levels.
View attachment 20781
It is not unusual for many lakes in the intermountain west to drop to 30-50 capacity in a normal year As most of these lakes are the only source of irrigation and drinking water.

I'm just here trading information. I can be wrong... or we can just have a friendly conversation full of opinions. It doesn't matter in the least what the snow pack is or whether the dam is still generating if the water level is continuing to go down. So they found a way to keep a generator or two operational. What about next week, month, or year? We can have a good year or two of snow and the demand for water is still going to be increasing. Do you buy more cows when your pasture is over capacity? It's the same thing.

 

[Travlr]

Studies say Great Salt Lake is not drying up due to climate change . But is due to increased population.

Science | AAAS

www.science.org

The watershed that feeds the lake is being used up before it empties in to the basin. The same way the water is being used from the Colorado Plateau that feeds the Colorado River and the reservoirs... as well as drought.

Las Vegas is building houses as fast as they can sell permits... and the casinos are still pumping water into the air with their giant water features.

 

[Rmc]

Do you buy more cows when your pasture is over capacity? It's the same thing.

You can bury your head in the sand and continue to believe what you want . It doesn't change the facts.snow pack/moisture was near or above normal for much of the intermountain west. Available forage /carrying capacity actually increased this year.

The real problem is there are too many people flushing toilets

Once again educate your self . Most water used to flush toilets actually is put back into the water cycle. Either adding to the ground water table when septic tanks are used . Or discharged back into rivers after treatment at wastewater treatment plants.

 

[CowboyRam]

I know you're heart's in the right place... but if we don't have the water to fill the dams we have, then where are we supposed to find the water to fill more dams?

The real problem is there are too many people flushing toilets and watering lawns.

My point is that had we built those dams when we had plenty of water we would not be in the situation that we are in now. Maybe the reservoirs would not be drawn down as much if they were in place.

Yes I agree there are to many toilets being flushed, but also maybe we should not putting so much water on all those golf courses. I did a quick search and there are like 58 golf courses in or near Las Vegas, I am betting they use a lot of water to keep them green.

 

[Travlr]

You can bury your head in the sand and continue to believe what you want . It doesn't change the facts.snow pack/moisture was near or above normal for much of the intermountain west. Available forage /carrying capacity actually increased this year.

Once again educate your self . Most water used to flush toilets actually is put back into the water cycle. Either adding to the ground water table when septic tanks are used . Or discharged back into rivers after treatment at wastewater treatment plants.

Well I can see you are inclined to be right instead of understanding what I'm saying. I tend to speak in generalities and metaphors and expect people to extrapolate.

The fact remains that we are in a world of hurt now and it's likely to get worse. That's why the reservoirs are going dry and the rivers no longer reach the ocean. I hope that is at least plain enough...