Guest Post by Brett Wilkins
“Today’s Colorado River projections are … a dire warning for the American West to eliminate rampant corporate water abuse before it’s too late,” said Amanda Starbuck, Food & Water Watch research director, following news the U.S. Department of the Interior ordered Arizona, Nevada and Mexico to draw less water from the river, on which 40 million people rely.
Amid extreme drought driven by the climate emergency and warnings of a possible “catastrophic collapse” of the dwindling Colorado River, the U.S. Department of the Interior on Tuesday announced the first-ever tier 2 shortage for the overdrawn vital waterway, triggering water use cuts in two Southwestern states and Mexico for 2023.
Based on projected water levels for 2023, the tier 2 shortage will force drought-ravaged Arizona, Nevada and Mexico to draw less from the Colorado River, upon which 40 million people in seven states and Mexico rely.
Arizona will face the biggest cut — 592,000 acre-feet, or about one-fifth of the state’s annual allocation, while an 8% reduction in Nevada is expected to have little impact in a state that recycles most of its indoor-use water and does not use its full allotment. Mexico’s allotment will be cut by approximately 7%.
Continue reading “Colorado River on Brink of ‘Catastrophic Collapse’ Brought on by Historic Drought”
