Westward Migration

Arizona has an incredibly large dependence on the Colorado River and groundwater. In fact, 39% of all water usage in Arizona is comprised of Colorado River water. Any dependence of that scale on any resource that originates in another area is always a major risk, as any major disaster or drastic change to the source of the river can cripple the state’s water supply. Furthermore, while Arizona does house the majority of the Lower Basin of the Colorado, the Colorado’s Upper Basin is shared between 4 other states, all with their own water needs and all with a susceptibility to drought. On the other hand, another 40% of all water Arizona uses is from groundwater sources. However, the Colorado River and these groundwater sources in the Colorado River basins have lost over 65 cubic kilometers of water over the last 9 years, with nearly 2/3 of it from groundwater loss due to over-pumping. This is because

The Red River Compact Commission was created and signed by 1978 by 4 states Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The Red River, the northern boundary of a lot of the state, is a major water source for all four of these states and was being fought over until this commission was made to help solve many of the disputes that could come up. Similarly, Texas has more agreements with other states including the Sabine River Compact Commission and the Rio Grande Compact. These commission serves the same purpose as the other commission, to make sure that all states receive the correct amount of water and that neither state ruins the water for any other one. The United States has an agreement with Mexico regarding the Colorado River that helps decide what should be done with a river that gives water to more than 33 million people across the two nations. The agreement is made to help the Colorado River make it back to the Ocean which will in turn help refill Lake Mead, the main source of water for the city of Los Vegas. The major treaty between the US and Mexico that Texas has a large hand in is the Treaty of February 3, 1994. This treaty restricts the water that the other country can take from the Rio Grande river, and guarantees the US one-third of the water from 5 tributaries in Mexico, and guarantees Mexico all of the water from two other tributaries. This treaty also allows both nations to dam parts of this

When they finally got the dam built they could now start to allow for the construction of other dams and irrigation systems farther down river. Also another great thing of the dam is it helps with agriculture and with making more building for what they need and it help in a way way big difference with the flooding. The year this happened was the year 1931 was when this dam went up. But a little before that in the year 1912, and it seems over time the irrigation started and the siphon was made this year of 1912 but that actually attracted more and more people. That means that the state will grow I’m population and other products. But with the “Steamboats still cruised up the Colorado River from Mexico, packed with goods, when the bureau started building the Laguna Dam around 1906.” But during the year of 1994 we made a treaty with mexico with the 1.5MAF of water in Colorado River to share with Mexico. “Today nearly 17 million people depend on the Colorado’s waters.” All american canal serves the Palo Verde Imperial irrigations also the yuma project lands in imperial and coatehand valley. Also the present perfected right- Palo Verde Imperial irrigation district and Reservation Division, Yuma project California division (non-indian portion) has present perfect rights. But for the Colorado River actually dried up at one point, the people really relied on the river and water, but sadly the water takes a long time

Certain models predict that drought activity is expected to increase toward the end of the 21st century and particularly in the Colorado River Basin (MacDonald & Turner, 21260). When the dam was built in the early 20th century, annual flow was about 17.0 MAF (million acre-feet) at Lees Ferry, Arizona which is a few miles below the dam. Estimates calculating the past MAF of the Colorado River average to about 13.8-14.6 over the last 450 years. Thus, the dam was built in a period with an unexpectedly high MAF. Alarmingly in 2000 the river averaged less than 9 MAF. (Bolin, Seetharam, & Pompeii, 263). In 2002, the river reached a low of about 6.2 MAF (MacDonald & Turner, 21256). Some models estimate that the river could reach the range of 1.5 to 4.5 MAF in the next 30–50 years. (Bolin, Seetharam, & Pompeii, 271). The reduction of MAF in the Colorado River is due to drought. Droughts have been occurring throughout the 20th century with droughts from 1900-1904, 1924-1936, 1953-1964, and 1988-1991. These droughts are associated with warmer regional temperatures and the level of warming is deemed exceptional for the 21st century (MacDonald & Turner, 21257). Recently the Colorado River has experienced the lowest 5 year mean flows on record (MacDonald & Turner, 21257). If river flow is low, so is Lake Powell’s water level. One study suggests that Lake Powell have a 50% chance of receding to inoperable status by the 2020’s

Arizonans see California’s drought and water restrictions plastered all over the television and newspapers. Many Arizonans remain concerned about the well-being of Californians, while some may mistakenly think that it is not Arizona’s problem. I was one of those people, and while investigated the idea, discover how Arizona is in a bad situation because of it. What I, along with others, did not understand is the years of planning, legislation, and engineering that took place to get water to Arizona and the rest of the Southwest. The Southwest is an arid environment that relies on one river, the Colorado River, to deliver water to seven different

Arizona is running out of water, and Central Arizona, the region where metropolitan Phoenix is located and inhabited by most of Arizona’s population, approximately 4.5 million out of the 6 million, has been one of the hardest hit (“5 Reasons to Panic about Arizona's Water, and 5 Reasons Not to”). It is essential that Central Arizona reduces the water intake of its industries, agriculture, and households because Arizona has been in an extended drought since the 90’s, and it is expected to continue (Schultz). The drought is causing Arizona’s water sources, primarily reservoirs, the Colorado River, and underground, non-replenishable aquifers to diminish. In fact, the Colorado River is shrinking each year which is a serious problem because the Colorado River supplies millions of people with water across seven states (“Colorado River

Serving as the “lifeline of the Southwest,” and one of the most heavily regulated rivers in the world, the Colorado River provides water to 35 million people and more than 4 million acres of farmland in a region encompassing some 246,000 square miles.

Water is vital to the survival of man. Settlers fought over it, farmers depend on it, and communities rely on it. Fort Huachuca and Sierra Vista are no exception. Located in one of the driest states in the U.S., they rely on the San Pedro River watershed for water. Barbara Tellman and Diane Hadley’s (1999) book Crossing Boundaries, talks of travelers in the 1800s who were amazed to see cottonwood lined streams of the San Pedro after traveling for days in desert uplands (p.11). Fort Huachuca was established because of the water source at the foot of the Huachuca Mountains, needed by Captain S.M. Whiteside, his troops and their horses (Price, 2003, p31). In 1902 Congress enacted the National Reclamation Act, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt. The Act recognized the importance of water to western development. Sierra Vista continues to grow, the use of ground water increases causing the water table to drop. As the water table drops, more human, plant and animal life are affected. To understand the significance of water in the Sierra Vista/ Fort Huachuca area, it is important to know where the water comes from, why it is so important and how it can be protected. Sierra Vista’s water is not infinite. There may not be enough

“Climate change” and its impact on basic water supply is at their foreground. It is an unfortunate reality that the terms of the Colorado Compact, the document dividing the Colorado’s waters, is an unworkable document. Based on allotments formulated in an “especially wet year,” the average volume now flowing does not meet the amounts specified in the agreement. Under the terms of the document, California receives the largest share, but with Southern California’s exploding population, this will be increasingly inadequate. Absent changes in both urban and agricultural use patterns, the deficit will only grow and further stress the state’s political and economic systems. Man’s mastery will thus prove illusory and short-lived and the original problems of water supply will return in highly magnified

Over the course of the past century, much has changed in America. From the rise of factory production bringing people out of the countryside and into the cities, to two World Wars that continued the massive factory production that funded and armed the war effort, to the rise of suburbia and the massive developments that often destroyed or forever altered vast tracks of land where they would sit. In Marc Reisner’s Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, he addresses the politics of water and environmentalism in the West. “Thanks to irrigation, thanks to the Bureau [of Reclamation]... states such as California, Arizona, and Idaho became populous and wealthy; millions settled in regions where nature, left alone, would have

Government officials and groups such as the Arizona Department of Water Resources seem confident in the progress thus far to conserve and store for the future. Arizona is one of the few western states considered to have a well-divided government organization when it comes to managing the above and underground water resources. The Key persons and groups in Government on this situation along with their role in Arizona water are as follows:

This was a problem because the products and supply no longer Could reach people and this affected the development of everything.Not only were there problems with supplies and products but also with natural disasters. In 1916, a great flood affected the counties of Yuma because of all the water that came from the mountains. This caused a lot of damage to the city, such as breach a levee and ruining many previous records. In addition to this, the flood stopped the development since this problem blocked the roads as well as the railroads so the products as the construction materials and food could not get easily and the workers were not in the best conditions.Perhaps you do not believe that after one Flood a drought but in this case it was. The river carried a lot of sediment and this covered the irrigation canals, the water could not pass and caused the crops to wither and die quickly. The division of the water of Colorado river was the most difficult legislative aspect.Due many people depended on the water of this river, California had many duel system of water rights and the best solution to all this was to put all groups in agreement, after this they decided to build the Hoover Dam.During the construction of the Yuma Siphon, there was also some problems present. One of them was to find a way to

The Hoover Dam is legendary. Having visited and stood on it’s bridge many times, there is no way to describe the incredible power that one feels just setting foot near the place. In 1922, the Reclamation Service presented a report calling for the development of a dam on the Colorado River for flood control and electric power generation. Even before Congress approved the Boulder Canyon Project, the Bureau of Reclamation was considering what kind of dam should be used. Officials eventually decided on a massive concrete arch-gravity dam, the design of which was overseen by the Bureau's chief design engineer John L. Savage. Construction of Hoover Dam began in 1931, and the last concrete was poured in 1935, two years ahead of schedule. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the dam on September 30, 1935. The power plant structures were completed in 1936, and the first generator began commercial operation in October of that year. The vital statistics describing Hoover Dam and its benefits are quite impressive on paper, but having visited the location and lived in areas of the country who benefit from the dam, the overwhelming size and impact of the project is made real. The dam is thick at the bottom and thin near the top, and would present a convex face towards the water above the dam. The curving arch of the dam would transmit the water's force into the

U.S Bureau of reclamation made this project to help with farming conditions and the water from the colorado river it also uses the laguna dam and some power plants and the system canals.

The Denver Basin aquifer framework is a noteworthy wellspring of water for South Metro Denver. The system extends from Colorado Springs in the south to Greeley in the north, from the foothills close Golden in the west toward the eastern fields close Limon, a surface locale of around 6,700 square miles. It joins four aquifers: the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe, and Laramie-Fox Hills. Each aquifer has different water quality, profundities, and water availability (CFWE, 2002).