Utah’s KUER news reports that pink snow is being observed at elevations of 6,000 – 7,000 feet.
While the snowpack is welcome for a state where 95% of its water supply is dependent on snow melt, the pink color is not. A green algae species is causing the pink hue and contributing to early snow melt. The algae is nothing new, according to the scientists interviewed by KUER, but the increasing amount of it is a symptom of climate change.
Utah experienced drought last summer, with concerns about the dwindling Great Salt Lake reported throughout the year. In his 2022 year-end report, the state’s senator Mitt Romney wrote, “Climate change remains a top area of concern for me as drought and water issues have plagued our state this year. I was proud that two of my bills amplifying the work being done by our state Legislature and governor to save the Great Salt Lake were signed into law. The Navajo Utah Water Rights Settlementwas also implemented this year, bringing running water to the 40% of Navajo Nation in Utah who lack it. This settlement became a reality with last year’s bipartisan infrastructure bill.”
Image and Credit:
An example of a snow field tinted by snow algae (Chlamydomonas nivalis). Iwona Erskine-Kellie, 2007 via Wikimedia Commons.
Since 1995, Deborah has owned and operated LegalTech LLC with a focus on water rights. Before moving to Arizona in 1986, she worked as a quality control analyst for Honeywell and in commercial real estate, both in Texas. She learned about Arizona's water rights from the late and great attorney Michael Brophy of Ryley, Carlock & Applewhite. Her side interests are writing (and reading), Wordpress programming and much more.
Congratulations on The Navajo Utah Water Rights Settlement and all the households that got water! Algae is no fun, as a pool owner most of my lif, I’m familiar with how fast it can grow and what it takes to combat it. The article doesn’t state any plan of action so, I cant help wonder if it’s going to be addressed.
Utah Division of Natural Resources and US Bureau of Reclamation finalize a detailed plan to assess water resources, forecast demand, and develop sustainable solutions to save the declining Great Salt...
Wyoming passes legislation investing in comprehensive water management strategies including studies, infrastructure upgrades, cloud seeding research, and collaboration with federal conservation...
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Leave a Reply