Getting your player ready...
WASHINGTON — Climate change is likely to diminish already scarce water supplies in the Western United States, exacerbating problems for millions of water users in the West, according to a new government report.
The Interior Department said annual flows in three prominent river basins — the Colorado, Rio Grande and San Joaquin — could decline by as much 8 percent to 14 percent over the next four decades. The three rivers provide water to eight states, including Colorado.
The report said projected changes in temperature and precipitation are likely to cause increased flooding in the winter because of early snowmelt and water shortages in the summer from reductions in spring and summer runoffs.
