What Is The Decline Of The Colorado River

Water scarcity is increasing worldwide and dramatically affecting first world nations such as Spain, Australia, and the United States. All nations are now starting to recognize that the world's water is a finite resource, and that resource is being drastically altered in both availability and quality by development, climate change and population growth. In the United States, the Colorado River is experiencing rapid declines in volume. Recent studies and data suggest that the changes in frequency, intensity, and timing of the availability of water will have substantial impact on the way we live our lives in the 21st century and beyond. As Letmathe Brakeck said, “I am confident that, under present

The Upper Basin States agreed in 1948 to a second interstate compact establishing their respective shares of water.[footnoteRef:40] These compacts paved the legal basis for the construction of a number of large reservoirs (i.e. Lake Mead) on the Colorado River by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. [40: Upper Colorado River Compact, Pub. L. No. 81-37, 63 Stat. 31 (1949), available at

The upper basin states (including Colorado) were allocated a much greater percentage of the water than the lower basin states, while the upper basin states were developing at a much slower rate than those in the lower basin, notably California. Nevada (as of 1997) anticipated being unable to rely just on this water by 2015, while in 1997 California was already exceeding its originally allocated supply by diverting unused water from the upper basin states (Arizona.edu, 1997). It goes without saying that this legislation from the early twentieth century is not going to be sufficient in coming years as the development of these regions has progressed at a much faster rate than originally anticipated, and it is the responsibility of state and federal governments, water management companies, as well as appeals from farmers and non-farming residents alike to come to an agreement on how to apportion water and how to implement secondary hydration plans due to the rapidly declining resource that the once-magnificent Colorado River was able to supply us

The mountain ranges in the Mountains and Basins section of Texas are made up of more than 150 mountains. Plateaus, basins and deserts make up the area’s other geographical features, which include the Big Bend National Park and the Rio Grande. The Mountains and Basins region covers more than 41,000 square miles and is the windiest and driest part of the state, receiving only eight inches of rain annually in the basins and deserts and about 20 inches per year in the mountains. Hot days and cool nights characterize the area’s normal weather patterns.

It divides the flow of water between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. So the Colorado River results from the divide that forces the snow of the Colorado Rockies to flow towards the Pacific Ocean. This geographical journey then continues into the boundary of Utah where it heads towards Arizona. This is where this water created, by way of pushing, biting, and carving its way into the Earth for millions of years, the massive canyon called the Grand Canyon. After this natural wonder, the river flows into the boundary of Nevada, then makes it journey into California. The end of the river passes through Baja California before making its finale of fluid flow in Sonora Mexico.

The Rio Grande is the fifth longest river to run through the United States and the 20th longest in the world. It flows 1,900 miles from the San Juan Mountains of Southwestern Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico. Along its way, it travels 175 miles through Colorado, 470 miles through New Mexico, and the remaining 1,240 miles through Texas. Currently, the river is used as a border from Texas (United States), to Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas (Mexico).

The Colorado River Basin starts in the Rocky Mountains and cuts through 1500 miles of canyon lands and deserts of seven US states and two Mexican states to supply a collection of dams and reservoirs with water to help irrigate cropland, support 40 million people, and provide hydroelectric power for the inland western United States [1,2]. From early settlement, rights over the river have been debated and reassigned to different states in the upper and lower basin; however, all the distribution patterns lead to excessive consumption of the resource. In 1922, the seven US states signed into the Colorado River Compact, which outlined the policy for the distribution rights to the water [3], however, this compact was written during an exceptionally

The Colorado River is shared by several states due to the large capacity of water that it holds and its proximity. These states include California, Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. The Colorado water compact is a 1922 agreement that was signed by seven states within the US to govern the sharing or water resources along the Colorado River. Since the development of the compact, California has been the most disadvantaged state since it uses water that has been already used up by other states. Before the compact, most of the states that use the water were in conflict due to the unfair allocation of the water resources. The allocation led to the development of the upper and the lower basin with the division point at the Lee Ferry. Some of the states got more allocation than the others while some did not get any fresh water (Sally, 2012). The Colorado water compact is ruled by many contracts and rulings that were signed by the states that use the water.

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

Another challenge for people is when you have to transport water from one place to other places for them not to dry up like the Colorado River in El Mayor Mexico. For example the Colorado River some of its water is transported ported through, eastward across the Rocky Mountains to Denver and other cities in Colorado. The Colorado River Aqueduct carries water to metropolitan Los Angeles, and the Central Arizona Project supplies the Phoenix and Tucson areas.” The American canal provides water for the Imperial Valley of southern California, the imperial valley is very active for

According to the CAP website, the CAP was developed when the seven states who rely on the Colorado River came together, and divided the water availability amongst themselves. This is known more formally as the Colorado River Compact of 1922. After many years of legislation and construction, the CAP started delivering water to Arizonans by 1993. The CAP brings water from Lake Havasu and goes through a series of canals extending 313 miles long, and is responsible for bringing water to 80 percent of Arizona’s population. However, because of prior appropriation laws, the CAP does not guarantee that Arizona will receive its annual 2.8 million acre feet.

The Little Tennessee River is a one hundred thirty five mile long. The start off the river is in Chattahoochee National Forest then travels through the mountains of western North Carolina then the river basin goes through other national forest lakes,through the Fontana lake and the will eventually emerge with Tennessee river in Knoxville and the ends near the southeastern of the the United States of America. Little Tennessee main tributaries though are Cullasaja River, Nantahala, Cheoah,Tuskegee and Oconaluftee.

As lack of water and a particularly dry climate out competes shrubs, trees, and grasslands across Colorado, erosion rates increase reducing the infiltration of moisture into the soil. Causation is believed to have come from heavy livestock grazing, fire suppression, and the introduction of exotic annual plants. Habitat problems for animals and communities that rely on ranching and hunting have been directly affected by these desertification effects. Desertification has had large ecological impacts on the state of Colorado. Vegetation and ecosystems are among the most crucially impacted by the effects of desertification. While Colorado continues its dry drought like climate, restoration of soil becomes one of the major solutions to fight off desertification. Because of the overuse of our land in past generations, we are continuing to see the harmful effects due to desertification. The overall impact on humans produced by desertification is best noticed by a diminishing food production as well as a wealth of water sources becoming dry. People in affected areas are likely to experience poor water quality, dust storms, and pollution. More importantly, as soil loses its nutrients, it no longer becomes farmable; thus, impacting local businesses, livestock, and the many people in that community. If desertification continues in Colorado, an increase of lost farmlands and livestock will pose an economic decease within agriculture markets, farmers will be forced to move to find better

The Snake River is the largest tributary of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest. One of the most important rivers in the region, it rises in the mountains of the Continental Divide near the southeastern corner of Yellowstone National Park and flows through Idaho and Oregon before finally emptying into the Columbia River in Washington. Fifteen dams have been built on the 1040 mile Snake River and its tributaries, mainly for purposes of providing irrigation water and hydroelectric power, ranging in size from small diversion dams to major high dams. While the many dams have transformed the region's economy, they have also had an adverse environmental effect on wildlife, most notably on wild salmon migrations.

Prior to settlement of the western United States, the Colorado River roamed free. Starting from cool mountain streams, the river eventually became a thunderous, silty force of nature as it entered the canyons along its path. The river nourished wetlands and other riparian habitats from the headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to the delta at the Sea of Cortez in Northwest Mexico. Settlers along the river harnessed these waters mainly for agriculture via irrigation canals, but flooding from spring runoff wreaked havoc on agricultural land, prevented development in the floodplain and full utilization of the water, a waste in the eyes of western farmers. In order to meet current and future water demands in the west, the Federal Government