According to Washington officials, water supplies to some US states and Mexico would be reduced in order to prevent the “catastrophic collapse” of the Colorado River as a result of the ongoing drought.
The river, the lifeblood of the western United States, is at critical levels after more than two decades of precipitation that was much below average, and the natural cycle of drought is getting worse due to human-caused climate change.
The federal government announced on Tuesday that it was stepping in because the states that depend on the river have been unable to come to an agreement on a plan to reduce their usage despite years of warnings and a deadline set by Washington.
According to Tanya Trujillo, assistant secretary for water and science at the US Interior Department, “water use in the Basin must be curtailed in order to avert a catastrophic collapse of the Colorado River System and a future of uncertainty and conflict.”
In 2023, Arizona’s river allocation will decrease by 21% while Nevada’s would decrease by 8%. Mexico’s allotment will decrease by 7%.
California, the most populous of the western states and the state that uses the most river water, won’t be impacted the following year.
The Colorado River flows through Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California, and northern Mexico before emptying into the Gulf of California. It originates in the Rocky Mountains.
Its main source of food is the high-altitude snowfall, which slowly melts throughout the warmer months.
But as a result of the unrestrained burning of fossil fuels by humanity, there is less precipitation, and what little snow there is is melting more quickly.
As a result, there is less water in the river that nourishes vast acres of farmland and tens of millions of people.
Washington intervened after the states that utilize the water missed a Monday deadline to reach an agreement in their ongoing efforts to reduce usage.
Tom Buschatzke, director of the state’s Department of Water Resources, and Ted Cooke, general manager of the Central Arizona Project, issued a joint statement that read, “It is unacceptable for Arizona to continue to bear a disproportionate burden of reductions for the benefit of others who have not contributed.”
Tommy Beaudreau, the deputy secretary of the interior, stated that his agency, which is in charge of managing the nation’s water resources, was “using every resource available to save water and ensure that irrigators, Tribes, and neighboring populations receive necessary support.”
“Climate change consequences, especially excessive heat and low precipitation, are driving the worsening drought situation impacting the Colorado River Basin,” he stated.
The stress on communities and our landscapes is increased by extreme drought conditions, which also increase the risk of wildfires and ecosystem damage.
Large areas of the country are now dry and more susceptible to hotter, quicker, and more catastrophic wildfires as a result of the drought.
Unpopular limits on outdoor watering have been put in place, and communities serviced by the Colorado River, including Los Angeles, have been ordered to save water.
These regulations are not always followed, with some lawns remaining astonishingly green, especially in the wealthiest areas of Los Angeles and its surroundings.
