For the second year straight, the national government said Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico will be required to decrease their water utilization.
“The worsening drought crisis impacting the Colorado River Basin is driven by the effects of climate change, including extreme heat and low precipitation,” said the deputy secretary of the Department of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau, in an explanation declaring the expected cuts back.
The Colorado River is 1,450 miles in length and goes through the Western states and into Mexico.
The Hoover Dam construction was completed back in 1935 and shaped the man-made reservoir, Lake Mead. The GlenCanyon Dam on the other hand finished in 1963, made the man-made reservoir called Lake Powell – you know, the ones we keep hearing that are drying up and at the lowest levels in the news.
The Colorado River basin has been in a dry spell for over 23 years. The water let out of the two dams, Glen Canyon and the Hoover Dam, will be decreased, the Department of the Interior said. Furthermore, the second year straight of water deficiencies is an indication of “the severity of the drought and critically low reservoir conditions,” the Department of the Interior said.
“Every sector in every state has a responsibility to ensure that water is used with maximum efficiency. In order to avoid a catastrophic collapse of the Colorado River System and a future of uncertainty and conflict, water use in the Basin must be reduced,” said Tanya Trujillo, associate secretary for water and science at the Department of Interior, in an open statement.
"*" indicates required fields
Beginning in January, Arizona will be required to decrease its water use by 592,000 acre-feet, which is 21% of the water the state utilizes. Nevada will also be required to decrease its utilization by 25,000 acre-feet, which is 8% of the state’s water use. What’s more, Mexico should decrease its yearly appointment by 7%.
Arizona state representatives communicated dissatisfaction at the cuts and the absence of a drawn-out coordinated arrangement for the states that rely upon the Colorado River for water.
And who wouldn’t be? We like everything else on earth kind of need water to survive. Of course, it doesn’t help when places like California decide to do stupid things like dump tons of fresh water into the ocean.
“It is unacceptable for Arizona to continue to carry a disproportionate burden of reductions for the benefit of others who have not contributed,” Tom Buschatzke, head of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, and Ted Cooke, the senior supervisor of the Central Arizona Project, said in a joint explanation.
“The Basin States have not yet produced a viable plan nor has the United States proposed a plan that achieves the protection volumes identified by the Commissioner. Achieving volumes at this magnitude will take significant contributions by all water users in the Colorado River Basin,” Cooke and Buschatzke said in a statement.
All I can say is I hope you have been listening to the people who have been saying stock up on supplies and water for a very long time now.