Colorado River Water Crisis

When I think back to family dinners growing up in Baja California, I recall the health of the Colorado River coming up repeatedly.

 

After all, the water flowing all the way down from the Rocky Mountains is what keeps the vast agricultural sector of the Imperial Valley and Mexicali alive. 

 

Since the year 2000, the river has been in a state of drought, becoming a source of conflict over water rights, allocation, and farming. 

 

The Colorado River’s distribution was first determined long ago by agreements like the 1922 Colorado River Compact and 1944 U.S.-Mexico Treaty. 

 

Although the Department of the Interior implemented drought contingency plans in 2019, the river’s flow has continued to decrease.

 

Now, the seven Colorado River Basin states (Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming) have until February 14th of this year to come up with a plan to share the water among the approximately 40 million people dependent on it across the U.S. and Mexico. If the states fail to come up with an agreement, they risk the Interior Department making a plan for them. 

 

This week, I got a chance to talk to Luke Runyon about the Colorado River water crisis. He's co-director of The Water Desk at the University of Colorado Boulder Center for Environmental Journalism and has been covering the Colorado River Basin for over a decade. 

 

I learned that, in addition to water demand outstripping the supply, climate change is exacerbating the problem. Higher temperatures lead to more water evaporation, thirstier plants, and drier soils. As Luke Runyon explained:

 

“So, we would be having an issue on the Colorado River, regardless of climate change. What climate change is doing is limiting the supply even further, and kind of catalyzing all of these discussions that are taking place around conservation. The way that that plays out on the ground is that climate change is upending how the water cycle in the Southwest functions.”

 

This is in part because the Colorado River’s hydrological cycle depends on snowpack from the high mountain ranges of the Upper Basin (Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico). Snowpack acts like a water reservoir. During the spring and summer, water melts and flows downriver. It’s an essential process that maintains river flows and groundwater recharge.

 

Since the start of the “megadrought” in 2000 snowpack has shrunk dramatically, and according to the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, several snowpack areas are  at their lowest on record for this time of year.

 

At the heart of this resource management issue is agriculture. Water from the Colorado River is used to irrigate over 5.5 million acres of United States farmland, which accounts for about 90% of the nation's winter vegetables. 

 

Across the border, in the valley of Mexicali, small farmers cornered by water cuts and production costs have had to abandon the trade. 

 

There’s another layer of injustice here. The Colorado River Basin is home to thirty federally recognized Tribal nations, many of which have relationships to the Colorado River, and they’ve been excluded from negotiations multiple times. 

 

Here at Living on Earth, we care about all creatures, not just humans, so you may be wondering— how does the drought impact biodiversity across the Colorado River Basin?

 

Before cities and industrial farming grew across the West, the river basin fed deserts and mountain ranges, home to diverse wildlife and plants. I did a bit of digging and learned that, now, this biodiversity is at risk. Drought conditions have led to four native fish species becoming endangered: Humpback Chub, Razorback Sucker, Colorado Pikeminnow, and Bonytail. Furthermore, 44 of the basin's 49 native fish species are already endangered or extinct due to reduced water, higher temperatures, and habitat loss, affecting everything from trout to otters. 

 

The water from the Colorado River is a lifeline for the Western United States as well as parts of Mexico. There are no winners if this body of water isn’t carefully managed, so we’ll be watching closely to see whether state and native leaders as well as agencies can come to a consensus on a viable, long-term management plan.

Paloma Beltran

Associate Producer