The Strain on the Colorado River and Water Conservation

The current strains on the Colorado River are well documented and expected to do nothing but worsen over the coming decades.  The Colorado winds over 1400 miles and supplies water to seven states.  A drought coupled with population growth have put supply demands upon the river that it cannot maintain.  In fact, a recent study conducted by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego stated there is a 50% chance that the massive Lake Mead could run dry by 2021. 

Bottom line is that the current usage levels are simply not sustainable at all.  Without fundamental shifts in water management, the result will be shortages and difficult decisions about who in the seven states the river serves will get water and who will go without, said Dave Wegner, science director for the Glen Canyon Institute. 

Last year, officials from the seven states and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne signed an agreement aimed at conserving and sharing scarce Colorado River water. The 20 yr plan formalized rules for cooperating during the ongoing drought.

It is clear that water conservation will become more and more important over the coming years and that the future of the Colorado River and Lake Mead's functionality is at risk.