It’s World Water Day!

10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Hardest Working River in the West

On World Water Day, especially with this year’s theme of “Water and Jobs,” we should celebrate the waterways we all depend on and love — and redouble our efforts to ensure our vital water resources are available for generations to come.

Unfortunately, one of our country’s most important rivers, the Colorado River, is also one of our most threatened. The drought in the West has only served to make a bad situation worse — for the cities that depend on the river for drinking water, the farmers who depend on it to grow the crops that feed the nation, the wildlife that depend on it as part of their habitat, and the local recreation economies that depend on it for jobs.

Fortunately, the communities in the Colorado River Basin are coming together and collaborating with government at all levels to put into place water conservation and drought resiliency efforts that will protect this vital river and all who rely on it.

Map courtesy US Bureau of Reclamation

Whether you’ve boated on Lake Powell or Lake Mead, rode the rapids in the Grand Canyon, or fished the blue ribbon streams that feed the river, there are countless ways in which the Colorado is the lifeblood of the Southwest and an economic engine for the entire country.

Here are just a few key facts about the hardest working river in the West:

1. The Colorado River winds 1,450 miles through the Southwest, providing water to seven states and Mexico.
2. Demand for water from the Colorado outstrips supply, and the drought and rising temperatures are making the imbalance more precarious.
3. The Colorado River is the hardest working river in the West, supporting 16 million American jobs in agriculture, energy production, and recreation, among others. The economic activity supported by the Colorado River accounts for 10 percent of our national GDP.
4. The Colorado supplies clean drinking water to more than 36 million people.
5. More than 5.36 million people use the river for recreational activities each year, providing a boon to the economy.
6. The Colorado River irrigates nearly 5.7 million acres of land, which grow 15 percent of the nation’s crops.
7. For most of the last half century, the Colorado River has dried up before reaching the sea.
8. Lake Powell, a major driver of tourism in the Southwest and the United States’ second-largest reservoir, recently fell below 40 percent of capacity, its lowest level since 1937.
9. The iconic Hoover Dam has the capacity to produce 2074 megawatts of energy, but as water levels in Lake Mead continue to drop, power capacity has been reduced to only 1735 megawatts in recent years — which means energy shortages equivalent to the power needs of more than 200,000 people.
10. The Colorado River is home to 30 endemic fish species and attracts anglers from across the country each year, bringing nearly $2 billion into the economy of the river basin.

As we work to protect the river — and the jobs, people and wildlife it supports — it’s encouraging to see the Obama Administration and Congress taking this issue seriously. On World Water Day, the White House Water Summit is highlighting the need for increased coordination among federal agencies responding to the drought, enhanced funding for conservation programs, and ongoing action and innovation to protect the Colorado River and the livelihoods that depend on it. We look forward to continuing to work with the Administration and Congress to provide critical support for water conservation efforts in the Colorado River Basin.

Lake Powell’s ubiquitous “Bathtub Ring” — a constant reminder that we are all in this together