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June 16, 2009
Rocky Mountain Region Dead Forests Could Harm Water Supply
Rick Cables, speaking for the U.S. Forest Service, and in charge of the Rocky Mountain region, told a U.S. House of Representatives panel today that the headwaters of the Colorado River, a source of drinking water for 33 million people, are in the middle of 2.5 million acres of dead or dying forests in Colorado and southern Wyoming, destroyed by bark
beetles (pictured).
Any fire in this region, fueled by these dead trees, could potentially damage reservoirs, pipes and other infrastructure that supply water.
Wildfires can "literally bake the soil," leaving behind a water-repellent surface that sheds rain and leads to severe erosion and debris, Cables said. The loss of so many trees also will reduce shade in the region, which in turn could reduce water supplies in the hot, dry summer months and accelerate snow melt in the spring, he said.
A Forest Service analysis shows that people in San Diego, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Tucson, AZ who receive their tap water from the Colorado River get one quart of every gallon from national forests in the Rocky Mountain region.
"The arid West absolutely depends on national forests as the source for their water," Cables said. "The reach of this watershed is unparalleled in the West."
Barbara Bentz, a research entomologist with the Forest Service, said that the the current outbreak of bark beetles, which has destroyed nearly 8 million acres of trees, is the largest in history, as reported by the Associated Press, and published by the Mercury News.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at June 16, 2009 02:36 PM
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