Threats To The Colorado River

Ismail Serageldin has been one of the most important voices calling for attention to the issues of water throughout the last decade. In August 1995 he warned that "if the wars of this century were fought over oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water unless we change our approach to managing this precious and vital resource".

The Colorado River starts in the rocky mountain national park along the jagged edge of the continental divide, the river flows and tumbles through 1,450 miles of mountains, canyons, and low deserts on its journey to the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. The entire southwest United States completely depends on the Colorado River. Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming and California. Five trillion

While it 's hard to put yourself in the shoes of an african kid struggling to find water, water scarcity is a problem that affects everyone even in the United States. The many threats the Colorado River faces led American Rivers to designate the Colorado River as “America 's most Endangered River” in 2013. “Any new diversion from the Colorado River system, whether from the Green River in Wyoming, the Yampa or the Colorado can no longer be a reliable source of water for the growing Front Range. There simply isn’t enough water left without further crippling both the West Slope and Colorado’s ability to meet downstream obligations we agreed to back in 1922, in the Colorado River Compact.” (Ken Neubecker) The Colorado river compact in 1922 was an agreement among seven U.S. states in the basin of the Colorado River in the American SouthWest governing the allocation of the water rights. The West Slope has its own “gap” of water needs with no identified source of supply. West Slope agriculture, for instance, is already short by 100,000 acre feet per year. Any new diversions could worsen the situation and contribute to the loss of more West Slope farms. Lake Powell and Lake Mead, our

For example there was the an act called The Colorado River Compact which was the cornerstone of the “Law of the River.” This compact was negotiated with 7 Colorado river basin states and the federal government in 1922; it didn’t take long for more acts to take place. Another act that took place was the Boulder Canyon Project. This act: (1) ratified the 1922 Compact; (2) authorized the construction of Hoover Dam and related irrigation facilities in the lower Basin; (3) apportioned the lower basin 's 7.5 maf among the states of Arizona (2.8 maf), California (4.4 maf) and Nevada (0.3 maf); and (4) authorized and directed the Secretary of the Interior to function as the sole contracting authority for Colorado River water use in the lower basin. “Bureau of Reclamation” The economic and environmental damage of draining the Colorado River dry is unacceptable. Millions of people rely on the River for drinking water, agriculture, quality of life, and future economic growth.Changing the way the West uses water from the Colorado River is crucial. Water conservation, water reuse, and other cost-effective and innovative solutions could avoid upcoming water shortages stemming from the over-taxed and stressed Colorado