Tapped out, or plenty to tap? Developers argue there’s more water in the Colorado River Basin
by Luke Runyon | Arizona Daily Sun
The Colorado River, which supplies water to croplands and 40 million people in the Southwest, is projected to hit a historic low mark within two years, forcing mandatory cuts to deliveries in Arizona, Nevada and Mexico.
Facing exceptional drought conditions this summer, cities throughout the river’s vast watershed imposed mandatory water restrictions, ranchers have begun selling cattle they can’t feed, and the river’s reservoirs are headed toward levels not seen since they were created in the early and mid-20th century.
Many of those who closely watch the Colorado say the river is tapped out, citing a range of symptoms: the impending shortage declaration; the river’s inability to reach the Sea of Cortez; and the plant and animal species whose populations tanked as the dams went up and reservoirs filled behind them. To these observers, it’s an overallocated system, and any proposal to pull more water from it should be intensely scrutinized or halted all together.
