Due To The Drought In The United States, Water Supplies For Colorado And Arizona Have Been Cut; Mexico’s Quota Has Been Reduced
It is unfortunate that the Colorado River System and the states that depend on it currently face problems due to droughts in the Western US because it is snowing less and the Rocky Mountain glaciers are melting at a rapid pace.
As a result of a historic drought, water supplies to some US states and Mexico will be cut off to avoid a “catastrophic collapse” of the Colorado River, Washington officials said Tuesday.
There have been more than two decades of well below average rainfall resulting in the river – the lifeblood of the western United States – being at critical levels, as human-caused climate change worsens the natural cycle of drought and famine.
As a result, despite years of warnings and a deadline set by Washington, states that depend on the river have not been able to come up with a plan to reduce their usage of the river, and on Tuesday, the federal government announced that it would take over.
The Colorado River Basin must be reduced in water use if we are to avoid a catastrophic collapse of the Colorado River System and a future of uncertainty and conflict,” said Tanya Trujillo, assistant secretary of the US Department of the Interior for water and science.
In 2023, Arizona’s allocation from the river will be reduced by 21 percent, while Nevada’s allocation will be reduced by eight percent. There will be a reduction of seven percent in Mexico’s allotment.
As the largest user of the river’s water and the most populous of the western states, California won’t be affected by the water shortage next year.
From its source in the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado River snakes its way through Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California, and northern Mexico, before emptying into the Gulf of California, where it empties into the Pacific Ocean.
Due To The Drought In The United States, Water Supplies For Colorado And Arizona Have Been Cut; Mexico’s Quota Has Been Reduced
In the warmer months of the year, it is fed primarily by snowpack at high altitudes, which melts slowly as it warms up.
As a result of reduced precipitation and the higher temperatures caused by humanity’s unchecked burning of fossil fuels, less snow is falling, and what snow does occur, is melting at a faster rate as a consequence.
The result of this is that the river that supplies tens of millions of people with water and countless acres of farmland is not as full as it once was.
In the past few weeks, the states that use the water have been engaged in negotiations over how to reduce its consumption but missed a Monday deadline to come up with a deal, so Washington has stepped in to help.
California has been exempted from any cuts within the settlement, according to officials in upstream states, who have criticized what they viewed as an unfair settlement.
In a statement issued by Tom Buschatzke, director of the state’s Department of Water Resources, and Ted Cooke, general manager of the Central Arizona Project, it was stated that Arizona should not continue to bear a disproportionate amount of reductions for the benefit of other countries that have not contributed.
THE CHANGE IN CLIMATE
A Deputy Interior Secretary, Tommy Beaudreau, said that his department, which oversees the US water supply, is using all the resources at its disposal to conserve water and to ensure that irrigators, Tribes, and other adjoining communities receive adequate assistance to conserve water.
There is an acute drought crisis affecting the Colorado River Basin as a result of climate change, including extreme heat and low precipitation, which are all caused by the effects of climate change.
As a result, severe drought conditions have exacerbated wildfire risks and ecosystem disruption, increasing the stress on communities as well as the landscape itself.”
Currently, the western United States is suffering from the worst drought it has ever experienced in more than 1,000 years, which is now in its 23rd year.
Due to that drought, swathes of the country have been left dry, making them more vulnerable to wildfires that are hotter, faster, and more destructive.
A number of communities along the Colorado River, including Los Angeles, have been ordered to conserve water, as unpopular restrictions have been placed on outdoor watering in areas served by the Colorado River.
There is uneven enforcement of those restrictions, with some lawns in the most affluent parts of Los Angeles and its surrounding areas still looking remarkably green despite the restrictions.