How will climate change impact water availability in Colorado?

The High Country Conservation Center and the Summit Climate Action Collaborative are hosting Brad Udall, CSU Senior Water and Climate Research Scientist, to give a talk on climate change and water on Wednesday, September 18 from 6 – 7:30pm at the Frisco Adventure Park Day Lodge. Food and drinks provided; cash bar will be open.

More info

Since 2000, the Colorado River has been in an extended drought. On average, annual flows are down over 16%. This is true even with years like the just-passed winter of 2018-2019. Since the start of the drought, the nation’s two largest reservoirs, Lakes Mead and Powell, have lost over 40% of their water storage Only a year ago, the summer of 2018 was the warmest and driest in the gage record of the basin going all the way back to 1895. Scientists have tied the decline in flows to higher temperatures from our rapidly changing climate. What is the future of this river upon which near all Coloradans depend in some way?

About the Speaker

Brad Udall serves as senior water and climate research scientist at the Colorado Water Institute. He has extensive experience in water and climate policy issues, most recently as the director of the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy and the Environment and the Western Water Assessment at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications on water management and climate change which have been published by the federal government and major journals.