The Colorado River system is in severe drought, and significantly in need of water to be released from its upper reaches. On April 17, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation made its first announcement that it plans to release 6 million acre feet (MAF) from the Glen Canyon Dam, located in northeastern Arizona, which water will then flow southward to Lake Powell, the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States. In “normal years,” 8.23 MAF are released from Glen Canyon Dam, so the amount released will constitute only 73% of the need, creating a crisis for the 40 million people in seven states who draw water from the Colorado River and its immediate basin.
The problem is twofold: First, the snow pack that gathers in the mountains is one of the lowest in recorded history. On April 3, the Colorado Sun reported about the snow pack, “State climatologists report … only 22% of historic norm for available water at traditional April 1 mark.” That is, the snow that gathered high up in the mountains, which would then melt and run down into the river, is only one-fifth its normal level. Second, the water levels in the river and reservoirs were already at low levels: Long-term drought has reduced Colorado River system storage to about 36% of capacity, which is the capacity that the river can historically hold.
The water from Lake Powell would normally be allowed to flow farther south, to Lake Mead, the largest man-made lake that runs up against and was created by the Hoover Dam.
The Colorado River is divided into two basins: the Upper Basin which encompasses the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, and the Lower Basin, which encompasses Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado. The authorities that run these two basins are competing against each other for the limited water. The demand is now arising for the states, and cities within them, to cut their water consumption. Some 70% of the Colorado River water goes to agriculture (18% goes to cities). The Lower Basin grows alfalfa, cotton, citrus fruits, and vegetables—according to one report, accounting for up to 90% of all leafy greens consumed in the U.S. and Canada. There are various proposals for water conservation, including replacing food-producing plants with plants adapted to lower-water situations, but those plants cannot be consumed as food. Moreover, rationing water, which is the wrong approach, has its limits.
