Colorado River

"The states that rely on the Colorado River, which is shrinking because of climate change and overuse, are rushing to agree on a long-term deal to share the dwindling resource by the end of the year. The Colorado provides drinking water to 40 million people in seven states, 30 tribes and Mexico, as well as irrigation for some of America’s most productive farmland. But the amount of water flowing in the Colorado has declined over time as rising temperatures reduce the snowpack that feeds the river . . .

“How do we live with the river that we have, not the river that we hope and dream for?” said Becky Mitchell, the lead negotiator for the state of Colorado."

"The Colorado River is in crisis — one deepening by the day. It is a powerhouse: a 1,450-mile waterway that stretches from the Rocky Mountains to the Sea of Cortez, serving 40 million people in seven U.S. states, 30 federally recognized tribes and Mexico. It hydrates 5 million acres of agricultural land and provides critical habitat for rare fish, birds and plants. But the Colorado’s water was overpromised when it was first allocated a century ago. Demand in the fast-growing Southwest exceeds supply, and it is growing even as supply drops amid a climate change-driven megadrought and rising temperatures."

"Smallmouth bass feast on humpback chub in the river’s upper section. Agencies spend millions of dollars there annually to keep those intruders in check. The native fish have been safer below Glen Canyon Dam because it blocks the path to the Lower Colorado and the Grand Canyon, some 200 miles (322 kilometers) downstream — but that may not be true for long. Bass up in Lake Powell generally prefer warmer waters in shallow areas and at the surface. As reservoir levels drop, they are edging closer to the dam and its penstocks — submerged steel tubes that carry water to turbines, where it generates hydroelectric power and is released on the other side. If large numbers of bass and other predator fish are sucked into the penstocks, survive and reproduce below the dam, they’ll have an open lane to attack chub and other natives, potentially unraveling years of restoration work and upending the Grand Canyon aquatic ecosystem."

“It feels like summer here, and we’re in November. If I remember, when I was a child, we already had snow on the ground.”

"For thousands of years, an Arizona tribe relied on the Colorado River's natural flooding patterns to farm. Later, it hand-dug ditches and canals to route water to fields. Now, gravity sends the river water from the north end of the Colorado River Indian Tribes reservation through 19th century canals to sustain alfalfa, cotton, wheat, onions and potatoes, mainly by flooding the fields . . . Some of those fields haven't been producing lately as the tribe contributes water to prop up Lake Mead to help weather a historic drought in the American West. The reservoir serves as a barometer for how much water Arizona and other states will get under plans to protect the river serving 40 million people . . . Lake Mead on the Nevada-Arizona border has fallen to its lowest point since it was filled in the 1930s. Water experts say the situation would be worse had the tribe not agreed to store 150,000 acre-feet in the lake over three years. A single acre-foot is enough to serve one to two households per year. The Gila River Indian Community also contributed water."

"The average annual flow of the Colorado River has decreased 19 percent compared to its 20th century average. Models predict that by 2100, the river flow could fall as much as 55 percent. The Colorado River, and the people it sustains, are in serious trouble. Winter snow falls on the high peaks of the Rocky Mountains, settling in deep drifts until the spring thaws melt the snowpack to steadily release millions of gallons of freshwater that cascades downstream and into the Colorado River, which flows 1,450 miles through seven states, carving the iconic canyons of the American West, until finally reaching the Gulf of California. At least, that’s how it had been for millennia― but not anymore. The Colorado River no longer reaches the Gulf, and instead peters out of existence miles short of the sea. Two factors have conspired to turn this once mighty river into a trickle: climate change and overuse by the very states that rely on its waters."

"The Colorado River is the most endangered river in the United States— also, it is a part of my body. I carry a river. It is who I am: ‘Aha Makav. This is not metaphor. When a Mojave says, Inyech ‘Aha Makavch ithuum, we are saying our name. We are telling a story of our existence. The river runs through the middle of my body."

“. . . Many experts believe the current drought is only the harbinger of a new, drier era in which the Colorado's flow will be substantially and permanently diminished. Faced with the shortage, federal authorities this year will for the first time decrease the amount of water that flows into Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir, from Lake Powell 180 miles upstream. That will reduce even more the level of Lake Mead, a crucial source of water for cities from Las Vegas to Los Angeles and for millions of acres of farmland . . . And most experts agree that the basin will get even drier: A brace of global-warming studies concludes that rising temperatures will reduce the Colorado's average flow after 2050 by five to 35 percent, even if rainfall remains the same — and most of those studies predict that rains will diminish.”

The first study that presents a comprehensive overview of groundwater depletion within the region: “Recent assessment indicates that demand for this renewable resource will soon outstrip supply, suggesting that limited groundwater reserves will play an increasingly important role in meeting future water needs. Here we analyze 9 years (December 2004 to November 2013) of observations from the NASA Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment mission and find that during this period of sustained drought, groundwater accounted for 50.1 km3 of the total 64.8 km3 of freshwater loss. The rapid rate of depletion of groundwater storage (5.6 ± 0.4 km3 yr1) far exceeded the rate of depletion of Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Results indicate that groundwater may comprise a far greater fraction of Basin water use than previously recognized, in particular during drought, and that its disappearance may threaten the long-term ability to meet future allocations to the seven Basin states.”

“. . . more than 373 bird, 89 mammal, 47 reptile, 9 amphibian, and 17 fish species live in the park. Abundant trout attract eagles to the Colorado River, while the calm waters of Lake Powell behind Glen Canyon Dam attract migrating ducks in winter months. In desert areas, peregrine falcons can be found feasting on bats, swifts, and other birds while nesting along the cliffs of the inner canyon. Many birds reside in the coniferous forests along the rims, including goshawks and spotted owls that are threatened species in the Southwest because of historic and contemporary logging Mammals at the Grand Canyon range from tiny rodents to large bears. The most common mammals that live along the Colorado River corridor are rodents and bats. Within the past few decades, river otters and muskrats have become extremely rare. But since the completion of Glen Canyon Dam beavers have begun reappearing in the park. Coniferous forests provide habitat for the most mammal species, including porcupines, several species of squirrels, black bear, mule deer, and elk. Mammals such as bighorn sheep, coyotes, ringtail cats, skunks, raccoons, bobcats, foxes and cougars range widely throughout the park.”

“Today, five self-sustaining populations of humpback chub occur in the Upper Colorado River Basin . . . The largest known population of humpback chub is in the Lower Colorado River (LCR) Basin in the Grand Canyon – primarily in the LCR and its confluence with the main stem of the Little Colorado River. In 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey announced that this population increased by about 50 percent from 2001 to 2008. The agency estimates that the number of adults is between 6,000 and 10,000, with the most likely number being 7,650 individuals.”

“Probably the most significant impact of damming the Colorado River is on its fish species. Ecologically isolated from other watersheds, the Colorado was once home to perhaps sixteen species found nowhere else . . . Dams have endangered native fish populations by blocking their natural migration patterns . . . As humans have dammed, diverted, and stored Colorado River water, the amount of average flow downstream has been significantly reduced. Diversions out of the river take out nearly one-third of the flow, and another 1 million acre-feet (MAF) evaporate every year from the reservoirs. Even more significant is the elimination of annual flooding, which signaled the time for certain fish behaviors, such as spawning.”

“Today, an estimated 78% of the annual flow is used on fields to grow crops, watering approximately 1.8 million acres with almost 4 trillion gallons. The Colorado River basin produces approximately 15% of the crops and 13% of the livestock for the entire nation. This agriculture generates approximately $1.5 billion in revenue each year.”

“What reaches the mudflats of the delta today is agricultural runoff, wastewater that has flowed over fields, seeped into desert soils high in mineral salts, and pooled in reservoirs and back channels exposed to the sun. What was once a majestic river that each year in flood flushed clean the delta, replenishing the land with silt and nutrients, it today a saline slurry, with a salt content so high it cannot be used to water even the most hardy of garden plants. Thus by the time water provided to ranchers and farmers in the upper Colorado basin for a mere $3.50an acre-foot reaches the delta, it must be treated and desalinated before it can be placed on Mexican fields, increasing the costs a hundredfold.”