Disruption of Western Water

We in the Rocky Mountain states get 70 to 90 percent of our water from snowmelt, so less snow threatens our water supplies. Earlier snowmelt means that peak streamflows will be earlier, weeks before the peak needs of farmers, ranchers, homeowners, and ecosystems.

In the West -- both the driest and the fastest growing part of the country -- this is our greatest vulnerability to a climate disrupted by the heat-trapping gases people are putting into the atmosphere.

"Climate models consistently project that the East
will experience increased runoff, while there will
be substantial declines in the interior West,
especially the Southwest. Projections for runoff
in California and other parts of the West also
show reductions, although less than in the interior
West. In short, wet areas are projected
to get wetter and dry areas drier.”

U.S. Global Change
Research Program (2009)

For more information, see the RMCO report,
Less Snow, Less Water: Climate Disruption in the West.