In Colorado along the Colorado River, stunning changes are happening because of a drought. The evidence shows us that the drought has caused the landscape to change in the desert. Moving forward we must consider that there will be limited choices for drinking water, and not to use water for unnecessary things.
Judging by the lack of conservation reform, water has been taken for granted. But recent float suggests that changes may be coming for the region. Since the rivers were highly contaminated drinking from the the river wasn’t a option. Kayakers had to pack ten gallons of water, which would only last them two days. The eleven out of the past fourteen years have been drought years in the southwest, with the drought going to severe to extreme depending on the year and the area.(Waterman 1)
The reservoir serves multiple purposes, it stores water from the upper basin states, it also creates electricity through hydro-generators at Glen Canyon Dam, it helps prevent flooding below Hoover dam. Eventually we’ve should’ve known that the reservoir wasn’t going to be a option for water forever. Analysis of over a hundred climate projections suggests that the Colorado RIver will be much drier by the end of this century(Westerenresoucesadvocate). The rivers flow will fall to even more dangerously low levels if we don’t change the way we use the water.
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Over 5 million acres of farmland are irrigated by the river, which grows virtually all of the U.S’s winter vegetables. Since the drought, many farms and dairy operations have shut down. Rationings have started, homeowners are being fined for watering their lawns, and the state has now been relying on finite groundwater supplies. The river is being overused, if residents know that there is already a drought why are they wasting water on watering their lawns, they need to value the water they have as of now and not waste it on unnecessary things. The number of people who rely on the Colorado river is expected to double by 2060.(Dailymail)
Lake Powell is going to release an additional 10 percent of its water, 2.5 trillion gallons to Lake Mead, the release will lower the water in Lake Powell by three feet. The San Juan River is currently a lake bottom of silt deposits. The lake has barely any water left just sand, the sand is just like quicksand because of the little water mixing with the sand. In 2011 the reservoir was at seventy percent of its capacity, now it is dry and the lake bottom is a cracked series of chocolate-colored hummocks. Kayakers noticed that for five days they couldn’t even see a human footprint or hear the whine of Lake Powell. Lake Powell has lost 4.4 trillion gallons of water in the recent drought. The Lake is going to lose even more than that because they’re giving water to Hoover Dam’s Lake Mead (Waterman 4).
The kayakers continue to paddle in the chocolate pudding of ground-up river debris. “Bathtub rings” stains that were left by river materials when the area was wetter. Since Lake Powell and Lake Mead have been continuing to plummet officials decided to ration water in 2017 for the junior Colorado River- rights holders of Nevada and Arizona. We’ve been seeing that the water supply was beginning to get low, we should’ve been rationed water because it wouldn’t have gotten as bad as it is now. In the decades coming river running and reservoir boating may end. There is some talk about diverting more water to the Colorado Basin users from places like the Missouri River. Even if that does happen people still need to learn to value water. The same way were running out now could possibly happen again if we keep using water the way were using it now.
