Water Conservation

Climate change is causing the American West to experience what’s now being called a megadrought…the worst water shortage in 1,200 years. The Ogallala Aquifer is a huge underground water source supplying eight states where it may seem safely stored away. But as one ranching community in southeast Wyoming is finding out…that water is disappearing. Part of the problem is that water law hasn’t kept up with emerging science.

The pump failed last Friday and the Arapahoe Community Water system is still under a water advisory. Residents are told to boil their water for 3 minutes before use to prevent disease. Clinic will open Monday.

Colorado River water managers are facing a monumental task. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has asked seven western states to commit to an unprecedented amount of conservation and do it before a deadline later this summer. This comes amid shrinking water levels in the nation's largest reservoirs.

A new study looking at how drought might affect the Colorado River Basin projects that states like Wyoming will have less available water.Researchers out of the Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico explored several weather scenarios over the next 60 years in the Colorado River Basin.

On March 3, many Rawlins and Sinclair residents turned on their faucets only to find no water. School was canceled. Water use at the hospital was limited - workers had to haul buckets of water up several flights to flush toilets for patients. People did not know where to get drinking water. The water shortage lasted for seven days.

Jackson Lake will see historically low water levels this summer, according to an announcement from federal water managers.Nearly all of the reserve water stored in the lake will be released into the Snake River to meet the downstream irrigation needs in Idaho. Legally, Wyoming only has rights to four percent of water in the Snake River system.

University of Wyoming (UW) researchers have been awarded a five-year, $20 million federal grant from the National Science Foundation to study climate change and its effects on the state’s water supply.

A settlement has been reached over groundwater violations by the Hoback RV park, and an investigation is ongoing to see any potential damage caused.

A state bill that requires groundwater drillers to prove their wells wouldn’t hurt neighboring water supplies or streams has passed the legislature.

A controversial water dispute in Laramie County that got held up last year because of the pandemic will see its day in court June 9-11 in Cheyenne.