Database of surface water diversion sites and daily withdrawals for the Upper Colorado River Basin, 1980–2022

Abstract The Colorado River drains about 8% of the conterminous United States, provides water for 40 million people, and is one of the most overallocated rivers in the world. As the upper Colorado River Basin (UCOL) contributes an estimated 92% of the total basin natural streamflow, knowledge of the...

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Main Authors: Samuel F. Lopez, Jacob E. Knight, Fred D. Tilman, Melissa D. Masbruch, Daniel R. Wise, Casey J. Jones, Matthew P. Miller
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2024-11-01
Series:Scientific Data
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-04123-0
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author Samuel F. Lopez
Jacob E. Knight
Fred D. Tilman
Melissa D. Masbruch
Daniel R. Wise
Casey J. Jones
Matthew P. Miller
author_facet Samuel F. Lopez
Jacob E. Knight
Fred D. Tilman
Melissa D. Masbruch
Daniel R. Wise
Casey J. Jones
Matthew P. Miller
author_sort Samuel F. Lopez
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The Colorado River drains about 8% of the conterminous United States, provides water for 40 million people, and is one of the most overallocated rivers in the world. As the upper Colorado River Basin (UCOL) contributes an estimated 92% of the total basin natural streamflow, knowledge of the location and amount of surface water withdrawals in the UCOL is important for managing the Colorado River system. Since the UCOL encompasses portions of five states, water use data are dispersed among numerous federal and state agency databases, and there is no centralized dataset that documents surface water use within the entire UCOL at a fine spatial and temporal resolution. This article presents an inventory of 1,358 major structures that divert surface water from and within the UCOL with corresponding daily time series withdrawal records from 1980 through 2022. Data compilation efforts, processing methods, and contents of this diversion database are documented, and summary information is provided.
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spelling doaj-art-8fbb030f2b5942b0a6f020c96d010c102025-08-20T02:15:17ZengNature PortfolioScientific Data2052-44632024-11-0111111010.1038/s41597-024-04123-0Database of surface water diversion sites and daily withdrawals for the Upper Colorado River Basin, 1980–2022Samuel F. Lopez0Jacob E. Knight1Fred D. Tilman2Melissa D. Masbruch3Daniel R. Wise4Casey J. Jones5Matthew P. Miller6U.S. Geological SurveyU.S. Geological SurveyU.S. Geological SurveyU.S. Geological SurveyU.S. Geological SurveyU.S. Geological SurveyU.S. Geological SurveyAbstract The Colorado River drains about 8% of the conterminous United States, provides water for 40 million people, and is one of the most overallocated rivers in the world. As the upper Colorado River Basin (UCOL) contributes an estimated 92% of the total basin natural streamflow, knowledge of the location and amount of surface water withdrawals in the UCOL is important for managing the Colorado River system. Since the UCOL encompasses portions of five states, water use data are dispersed among numerous federal and state agency databases, and there is no centralized dataset that documents surface water use within the entire UCOL at a fine spatial and temporal resolution. This article presents an inventory of 1,358 major structures that divert surface water from and within the UCOL with corresponding daily time series withdrawal records from 1980 through 2022. Data compilation efforts, processing methods, and contents of this diversion database are documented, and summary information is provided.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-04123-0
spellingShingle Samuel F. Lopez
Jacob E. Knight
Fred D. Tilman
Melissa D. Masbruch
Daniel R. Wise
Casey J. Jones
Matthew P. Miller
Database of surface water diversion sites and daily withdrawals for the Upper Colorado River Basin, 1980–2022
Scientific Data
title Database of surface water diversion sites and daily withdrawals for the Upper Colorado River Basin, 1980–2022
title_full Database of surface water diversion sites and daily withdrawals for the Upper Colorado River Basin, 1980–2022
title_fullStr Database of surface water diversion sites and daily withdrawals for the Upper Colorado River Basin, 1980–2022
title_full_unstemmed Database of surface water diversion sites and daily withdrawals for the Upper Colorado River Basin, 1980–2022
title_short Database of surface water diversion sites and daily withdrawals for the Upper Colorado River Basin, 1980–2022
title_sort database of surface water diversion sites and daily withdrawals for the upper colorado river basin 1980 2022
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-04123-0
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