Colorado River
The Colorado River is one of the longest rivers in the United States, at about 1450 mi (2330 km) long, and flows from the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado, just west of the Continental Divide, then primarily southwest through Colorado, Utah, and Arizona, then flows along the border between Nevada and Arizona, and Arizona and California; and continues through Mexico, emptying into the Gulf of California. It passes through several Lakes and dams, most notably Glen Canyon Dam and Hoover Dam,[1] and also runs through the Grand Canyon.[2]
Due in part to cannabis water theft, the Colorado River is drying up.
The Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner announced in June 2022 that the Colorado River "basin required 2 to 4 million acre-feet in conservation in 2023 to stabilize the river’s largest reservoirs."[3] The federal government is putting pressure on states, particularly Arizona and perhaps California, to conserve more.
2022 Drought
In August 2022, for the first time a "Tier 2" shortage was declared for the first time.[4] As a result releases from the "Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams, which created Lakes Powell and Mead, will be reduced again in 2023 due to declining reservoir levels."[4]
Water flow
The water flow of the Colorado River can be 800 million gallons per hour. Roughly 40 million people, including 90% of the water needs of Las Vegas (which also gets its other 10% from groundwater[5]), depend on the Colorado River.
Colorado River is "the country's largest source of fresh water serving 40 million people and supporting $1.4 trillion in annual economic activity, is no longer sufficient."[6]
Water allocation
Nevada is allowed to consume 300,000 acre-feet of water per year. As one acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, this totals about 100 billion gallons of water annually.[5]
Cannabis
Merely one cannabis plant consumes nearly 1000 gallons of water annually.[7]
Old name
The Colorado River used to be called the "Grand River,"[8] until 1921, when it got its current name.[9] Because it flowed through the Grand Canyon, it also gave the name "Grand" to several other towns, including Grand Junction and Grand County, Colorado.
External links
- http://www.doi.gov/issues/colorado.html
- http://parks.state.co.us/Parks/jamesmrobbcoloradoriver
- http://www.udel.edu/inst/problems/colorado/
References
- ↑ http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/
- ↑ http://www.nps.gov/grca/
- ↑ https://www.kunc.org/environment/2022-09-30/federal-officials-set-their-sights-on-lower-colorado-river-evaporation-to-speed-up-conservation
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://www.foxweather.com/extreme-weather/lake-mead-lake-powell-colorado-river-water-cuts-drought
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://www.snwa.com/water-resources/current-water-supply/index.html
- ↑ https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/colorado-river-drought-cuts-key-western-midterm-races/story?id=89848866
- ↑ https://mjbizdaily.com/cannabis-requires-more-water-than-commodity-crops-researchers-say/#:~:text=On%20average%2C%20the%20researchers%20found,long%20from%20June%20through%20October.
- ↑ http://www.memoriallibrary.com/MAP/1872West/colorado.htm Map from 1872 showing the "Grand River" in Colorado
- ↑ http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20031223/OPINION/312230302