美国国家公共电台 NPR--Recent heavy snow is crucial to the Colorado River but it's not a drought ender

Recent heavy snow is crucial to the Colorado River but it's not a drought ender

Transcript¹

Rain in California and deep snow in the Rocky Mountains have brought temporary relief to drought-stricken states in the West. But water managers say the long-term water supply picture remains² bleak³.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

California has been hit by a series of storms in recent weeks that's caused at least 20 deaths and lots of damage. But the wet weather out West is also responsible for a deep snowpack in the Rocky Mountains, which might be good for the Colorado River because the snow could boost depleted⁴ reservoirs. The thing is, it won't be enough to undo⁵ the impacts of a long-running drought. From member station KUNC, Alex Hager reports.

ALEX HAGER, BYLINE⁶: The snow is snowing, the wind is blowing, and high in the mountains of Colorado, the ski slopes are getting busy.

BILL PHILLIPS: To be schmaltzy, it's heavenly. It's a heavenly day of skiing.

HAGER: Bill Phillips stands at the top of a lift at Snowmass Ski Area near Aspen, where the flakes⁷ are piling up.

PHILLIPS: It's a fabulous⁸ year. And we've had regular snow. It's not just huge dumps, but regular, really nice, powder, fluffy⁹ snow to ski in.

HAGER: All of that powder is crucial for the Colorado River. Two-thirds of its water starts as snow in Colorado. This year, with totals well above average, spring snowmelt could help refill lakes Powell and Mead¹⁰, the nation's largest reservoirs.

But Brad Udall, a climate researcher at Colorado State University, cautions against getting too excited.

BRAD UDALL: Everybody is so eager to make an early call on this. And invariably, you'll get caught with your pants down if you think you know what's going to happen.

HAGER: The Colorado River Basin has experienced more than two decades of megadrought. Udall says climate change is making this whole region drier. And even with snow totals at 130% of average, it would take more than one year of deep powder to make a real dent¹¹.

UDALL: We would need five or six years at 150% snowpack to refill these reservoirs, and that is extremely unlikely.

HAGER: Udall says warmer temperatures have already cut into the amount of snow that melts into the Colorado River. Since 1970, temperatures in the region have gone up by 3 degrees Fahrenheit¹². And on top of that, abnormally dry soil soaks up water before it can reach the places where people divert and collect it.

UDALL: I mean, we need to continue to plan for the worst year. That's what we've seen the last 23 years. That's what these warming temperatures continue to tell us. We have to plan for the worst.

HAGER: But planning has gotten a lot harder lately. Cynthia Campbell knows this firsthand. She's a water management adviser¹³ with the city of Phoenix¹⁴. The fifth largest city in the country gets more than a third of its water from the Colorado River. Lately, she's been keeping closer track of the high-altitude snow.

CYNTHIA CAMPBELL: Our worst-case scenario¹⁵, from our perspective, is that we have to be in the habit of annually¹⁶ looking to the mountains to see, what is the precipitation?

HAGER: Campbell says reservoirs provide a buffer¹⁷ against the fluctuation¹⁸ of dry years and wet years. But with those reserves shrinking, cities around the Southwest can only plan a year at a time.

CAMPBELL: That's just not enough time to make changes that you would have to make. But that is where we are. And so in some ways we're living - is it the worst nightmare? Might be.

HAGER: Seven states use water from the Colorado River, including Colorado, Utah and California. They've struggled to reduce their demand, threatening water for crops and hydropower that supplies electricity to millions. States can't agree on a plan to significantly cut back on use, so big water users are trying to stretch the supplies they already have.

Adel Hagekhalil runs the Metropolitan¹⁹ Water District of Southern California, which stretches from north of Los Angeles all the way past San Diego.

ADEL HAGEKHALIL: One storm is not going to change the game. Whether we get a wet year or not, we need to continue to focus on building the infrastructure²⁰ we need to create local water supply.

HAGER: Hagekhalil is talking about programs to reuse existing water - cleaning up sewage to make it drinkable, capturing stormwater and incentivizing cutbacks to home water use. That's all to help provide insurance for the 19 million people whose taps draw from this system.

HAGEKHALIL: We have to be ready, and it will be on us if we're going to take the right actions today to invest and build the necessary infrastructure.

HAGER: And as climate change keeps shrinking the snow that supplies water to people and farms across the Southwest, the need to adapt is only getting bigger.

For NPR News, I'm Alex Hager in Snowmass Village, Colo.

(SOUNDBITE OF STAN FOREBEE'S "RUBY HILL")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

4 depleted   

adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
• Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。

5 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 flakes   

小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人

参考例句：

• It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。
• It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。

8 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

9 fluffy   

adj.有绒毛的，空洞的

参考例句：

• Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
• The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。

10 mead   

n.蜂蜜酒

参考例句：

• He gave me a cup of mead.他给我倒了杯蜂蜜酒。
• He drank some mead at supper.晚饭时他喝了一些蜂蜜酒。

11 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。

12 Fahrenheit   

n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的)

参考例句：

• He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被问到水的沸点是华氏多少度。
• The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出华氏80度。

13 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

14 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

15 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

16 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

17 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

18 fluctuation   

n.(物价的)波动，涨落；周期性变动；脉动

参考例句：

• The erratic fluctuation of market prices are in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。
• Early and adequate drainage is essential if fluctuation occurs.有波动感时，应及早地充分引流。

19 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

20 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。