Name: Not enough water to go around - Colorado River Basin, ravaged by drought, plans for a drier future
Uploaded: 2021-11-01T12:33:38.057164+00:00
Duration: 796 s
Channel: ALD
Description: This past week, California declared a statewide drought emergency. It follows the first-ever federal shortage declaration on the Colorado River, triggering cuts to water supplies in the Southwest. How are we going to live with this?

This past week, California declared a statewide drought emergency. It follows the first-ever federal shortage declaration on the Colorado River, triggering cuts to water supplies in the Southwest. How are we going to live with this?

<p>This past week, California declared a statewide drought emergency. It follows the first-ever federal shortage declaration on the Colorado River, triggering cuts to water supplies in the Southwest. How are we going to live with this?</p>

Intro - The Colorado River is running dry

The 22 year drought

Lake Powell and Lake Mead are at just about 30% capacity.

How can we fix the Colorado River

Whalen Wuertz's farm in Pinal County, Arizona is going to lose water supply.

Adjustments Wuertz is making to his farm

Indian River Tribes and the Colorado River

Divvying up the Colorado River

The law of the river itself allocate more water than exists

https://d3ev5earl6dvd0.cloudfront.net/public-media/videos/003/063/003063/video_QoUXPZB.mp4

The Colorado is the lifeblood of the region. It waters some of the country's fastest-growing cities nourishes some of our most fertile fields and powers $1.4 trillion dollars in annual economic activity. Lately, the river has been running dry due to the historically severe drought.

The Colorado River is in a severe drought and is being sucked dry by 40 million people in booming Western states who depend on the Colorado to quench their thirst, power their homes, water lawns and splash in the sun.

Lake Powell and Lake Mead are at just about 30% capacity. Power generation will be severely limited as a result. It's a signal of the long term problem we've been seeing since the year 2000.

Are we on a collision course with climate change? Brad Udall states the only way to fix water levels in the Colorado River is on the demand side, we cannot create more water. The federal government has mandated mandatory cutbacks.

Whale Wuertz grows 500 acres in Pinal County, south of Phoenix. His family has tilled soil here for four generations. His allotment of Colorado River water is being cut by 70%.

Wuertz's water allocation has fallen and he has made adjustments. He has sold 300 Acres to a solar farm and is going to leave more land uncultivated each year.

The tribes of the Colorado River have rights to 25% of the water, but have never been included in the policy making around the river, until recently

When Western states divvied up the Colorado River in 1922, the future seemed boundless and manageable. States worked out agreements. The lower basin states have never used their full share. Now they are booming and say they need it.

The law of the river itself allocate more water than actually flows down the Colorado, and this in times of shortage channels that provide more than a third of Arizona's water must run dry before California is required to cut back