Colorado River Depletion

Why does it really matter?

Wandering around Earth, one might be baffled at the sights that he or she will come across. If one of Earth’s inhabitants takes the time to look, he/she might find that some of the oceans capture an alluring shade of blue that seem to capture a little bit of heaven. For those with bold hearts, traveling into the rain forests will display a wide variety of animals and plant species that illuminate the Earth in a truly unique fashion. Traveling to Africa, some of the most dangerous, yet unique, species roam freely through the safaris. Personally, I was fortunate enough to travel to Colorado last summer. After a hike up one of the Rocky mountain summits, I was rewarded with an unthinkable sight. The majestical sight atop the mountain gave me the chance to see the Colorado domain for miles on end. However, the beauty that our Earth maintains is something that we shouldn’t take for granted. The climate patterns all around Earth are changing dramatically. A new pattern of global climate change is taking a toll on the southwestern United States. Around thirty million people currently rely on the Colorado River; however, it is drying up slowly. Because of the depletion, if certain actions are not taken, the recreational life, city water, agriculture, and aquatic ecosystems of the river will be complicated.

Looking back at history, scientists have seen several great societies that have thrived and flourished in their own time. Specifically, the Polynesian Easter Islands were home to a great civilization that lived off the land’s resources. However, with the growing society, the population was doomed by one catastrophic mistake. This civilization is guilty of overusing resources, such as cutting down too many trees. This lead to an “ecocide”, leaving a doomed fate of their existence.The main mistake that the Polynesian society made was overpopulating a region that did not hold abundant resources to supply such a population increase. Overusing the resources was, undoubtedly, a long process, but it was a process that seems to be similar to what is occurring in the southwestern United States today. However, saying the southwestern United States will face an apocalypse is definitely a fallacy.

The Colorado River runs from the Rocky mountains and stops shy of the Pacific Ocean. In the United States, it supplies water to Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. A river basin is an area which includes the river, the tributaries, and all of the region that relies on the river, and the Colorado River is split into the upper and lower basins. The depletion threatens four main categories: agriculture, environment, city water, and recreation. Approximately 78% of the river’s water is pumped to supply for agriculture. In terms of the environment, the river is a diverse habitat hosting trout, deer, bears, birds, etc. The city water is used in forms of drinking water, swimming pools, hygiene, and many more daily routines. Swimming, boating, water skiing, hunting and many other activities are among the recreational uses of the Colorado River.

To sum up the problem at hand, the Colorado River is depleting due to people overusing it as a resource. The question remaining is how fast is the river actually depleting? Many scientists say that the drought the region is experiencing is one of the most intense in the past century (Cayan et al., 2010). The Colorado River compact allocated 7.5 million acre-ft of water to be split among the states in the upper and lower basin, and an international agreement with Mexico allocated another 1.5 million acre-ft to Mexico. In the early 1900’s the river’s consumptive use was near 12 million acre-ft compared to around 37 million acre-ft in the early 2000’s. These numbers are estimated to increase to 52 million acre-ft around 2050 (Garrick et al., 2008). So what do these numbers mean? The southwestern United States is extracting water at an increasing rate from a source that is drying up at an increasing rate. Around 2050, the Colorado river’s basins are predicted to deplete the river of around 45% to 60% of its water (Garrick et al., 2008).

(Photo by Peter McBride)

Since the Colorado River is relied upon by a variety of species, including humans, for a variety of needs depletion is not an option. However, due to the drought, relying on the precipitation in the area to refill the river is neither an option. One might argue that precipitation will never cease to exist in the world, so the Colorado River will eventually refill itself. However, the southwestern United States won’t ever experience enough precipitation to refill the Colorado River to a level that could sustain its dependent population.

If precipitation is not the solution to the problem of the depleted Colorado River, then what is? Dr. Porinchu of UGA (2014) suggests many steps towards reviving the river as an efficient water source. To begin with, “citizens of the region could start by simply taking shorter showers, buying low-flush toilets, washing cars less, and being, overall, conscious of their water footprint” (Porinchu, 2014). As a whole, Porinchu (2014) suggests that cities may need better zoning ordinances because many of the cities are home to foreign grass lawns and swimming pools, which are not basic necessities in such an intense drought.

In summary, the Colorado River is a water supply used by approximately thirty million people. If it were to be depleted of all its water, the drought-stricken area of southwestern United States would face a crucial dilemma. Although, the problem isn’t strictly the drought, but it is how the basins handle the water that is offered from the river (Porinchu, 2014). The Colorado River now stops shy of the Pacific ocean by ninety miles, and scientists see no signs of the problem reversing. The people of the southwestern United States must address the problem before it is too late. It is time to more efficiently and conservatively use the Colorado River’s water. Otherwise, drastic changes will occur to recreational activities, the environment and ecology of the river, the agriculture in the basins, and water supplied to the basin’s desert cities.

Works Cited

“Bureau of Reclamation: Lower Colorado Region — Law of the River.” Bureau of Reclamation: Lower Colorado Region — Law of the River. Reclamation, Mar. 2008 Web. 24 Mar. 2014. <http://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g1000/lawofrvr.html>.

Cayan, Daniel R., et al. “Future dryness in the southwest US and the hydrology of the early 21st century drought.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107.50 (2010): 21271-21276.

Garrick, D., K. Jacobs, and G. Garfin. “Models, Assumptions, and Stakeholders: Planning for Water supply Variability In The Colorado River Basin.” Journal Of The American Water Resources Association 44.2 (2008): 381-398. CAB Abstracts. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.

Gertner, Joe. “The Future Is Drying Up.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Oct. 2007. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/magazine/21water-t.html?pagewanted=all>.

Hunt, Terry L., and Carl P. Lipo. “Search.” Revisiting Rapa Nui (Easter Island) ‘’Ecocide’’.Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 2009. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. .

“Population Growth.” Save The Colorado — Threats. Save the Colorado, 2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. <http://savethecolorado.org/threats.php>.

Porinchu, David F. “Colorado River Depletion.” Personal interview. 24 Mar. 2014.

Richer, Brian. “Are We Running Out of Water?” News Watch. National Geographic, 14 Mar. 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2014 <http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/03/14/are-we-running-out-of-water/>.

Wilkinson, Christian. “Colorado.” American Rivers. National Geographic, 1995. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. <https://www.americanrivers.org/endangered-rivers/2013-report/colorado/>.