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The Western US is already running out of water — and summer is still months away

Ski slopes are closed, sprinklers are banned, and more restrictions are still to come.

This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Officials were already sounding the alarm bells in early March across the Western United States after a winter with historically low snowpacks, which supplies water for communities as it slowly melts throughout the spring and summer.

Then came the heat wave.

As I reported last week, a high-pressure system brought early-season heat to the region, breaking temperature records in many states with help from climate change. Much of the little snow left in parts of the region melted, sparking fears for water supplies because it may evaporate or run off too early in the season, experts say.

Compounding the problem, more than half of the Western US is now experiencing drought conditions, according to the federal drought monitoring system.

Why the western US is running out of water, in one chart

So how is the West trying to prevent a looming water crisis spurred by this triple weather whammy? Some areas are cracking down on community water usage earlier than they’ve ever had to, disrupting many parts of daily life—from gardening habits to dining out. And bigger concerns loom as states squabble over shared resources from the Colorado River, a critical and increasingly strapped watershed in the region.

Many places around the world face similar dilemmas as climate change drives an “intensifying global pattern of more widespread and severe drought,” a new study finds.

Heat and drought fallout

The Denver Board of Water Commissioners announced last week a series of water limits with a goal to cut area usage by 20 percent. Restaurant owners have been asked to only serve water if a diner requests it. Customers of Denver Water — a public water utility in the city — must limit lawn watering to no more than two days per week, and there are more cuts on the horizon, depending on forecasts.

“The situation is quite serious,” Todd Hartman, a spokesperson for the utility, told NBC News. He added that although Denver Water’s reservoirs are roughly 80 percent full, the city can’t rely on snowpack like it typically does to refill them as levels drop. “We’re in such a dire situation that we could be coming back to the public in two or three months and saying you’re limited to one day a week.”

In the northern Colorado city of Erie, residents and businesses were told earlier in March to halt all irrigation until early April, with a target to reduce usage by more than 45 percent. Officials threatened to shut off the tap altogether for violators.

Recreation has also been hard: More........

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