Colorado River On Brink Of 'Catastrophic Collapse'

Colorado River on Brink of ‘Catastrophic Collapse’ Brought on by Historic Drought

 Brett Wilkins

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 impactin 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%.

The move came after Colorado River Basin states failed to meet a federal deadline at the end of Monday to come up with a plan to achieve a 15% reduction in water use, an amount scientists say is needed to prevent water stored in dangerously depleted reservoirs from dropping even further.

“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,” Assistant U.S. Secretary for Water and Science Tanya Trujillo said in a statement.

“The Interior Department is employing prompt and responsive actions and investments to ensure the entire Colorado River Basin can function and support all who rely on it,” she added.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton said in June that in order to stabilize the Colorado River Basin, states and water districts must devise a plan by mid-August to cut 2 to 4 million acre-feet of water usage by next year.

One acre-foot equals the quantity of water needed to flood one acre a foot deep — approximately 326,000 gallons. Touton warned that the federal government would intervene if states could not come up with a plan on their own.

“Instead of singing ‘Kumbaya,’ it appears they’re sharpening their knives,” Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network, said of the riparian states in an interview with Marketplace.