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Drought paradox study reveals plants around Colorado River turn to groundwater when it gets too hot and dry, reducing flow into the already strained basin Thirsty plants are sucking up water that would otherwise end up in the Colorado River, according to a new study. The findings could have important implications for water management in regions that rely heavily on snowmelt for their water, including Arizona and California. More than 1.4 billion people around the world rely on water from snowmelt-driven mountain rivers. In the United States, more than 10% of the population gets the majority of their water from the Colorado River alone. But as global temperatures rise, less water is flowing into the Colorado River and many other rivers, and an understanding of what is driving that change is essential to managing water in a hotter and drier future. Article continues below Most water in mountain ecosystems is lost through a combination of evaporation from the soil and a process called plant transpiration, in which plants release water vapor from their leaves. This combined process is known as evapotranspiration. Scientists had thought plants mostly drew on shallow soil moisture from recent rain or snow, which would mean hot, dry conditions should reduce evapotranspiration while leaving river flows relatively constant. But recent studies have uncovered a "drought paradox": Plants actually maintain, or even increase,... https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/rivers-oceans/scientists-discover-plants-around-the-colorado-river-are-sucking-up-groundwater-during-hot-summers