With lake levels dropping, Arizona farmers like Waylon Wuertz fear their fertile fields could become desert again. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. But the majority of it is used by the Imperial Irrigation District, which is an enormous farm district in the southern - southeast corner of California, where an incredible amount of the nation's winter vegetables are grown. As for this tradition in water rights that you get to keep the water rights you have as long as you use all of that water, even if you waste it, any chance that that could be changed? Bill Whitaker: St. George would say that they're not asking for more. Another thing with the allocation is they are missing some important stakeholders. LUSTGARTEN: Yeah, that's right. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. Lustgarten joined us on FRESH AIR seven years ago to explain the causes of the water shortage and the threat it poses. What is happening is the practice of paying some of those ranchers not to use their water and agreeing, in exchange for that payment, to preserve their water rights, that the water is, quote-unquote, used but it's used by putting it into storage, say, in Lake Mead, which increases the supply for the overall system. How has it been affected by the draining of the Colorado River? GAZETTE: Any chance that the atmospheric rivers that pounded California with weeks of rain helped the situation? A Crisis Of Water And Power On The Colorado River This cave has been open for public exploration for more than 130 years and takes its name from the cool breezes that. In some places, where those water supplies overlap, pulling groundwater can literally suck water out of the river that is unregulated. Colorado River Shortage Creates Arizona Water Crisis - BuzzFeed News Amelia Flores: All the water users are gonna have to give up something to keep that water in the lake. The water fight over the shrinking Colorado River - BBC News But there were farm subsidies from the federal government that made it almost mandatory to grow. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Stormwater management is another tool that can offset water uses. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Metro Boston has done a lot of good conserving work were down around 45 but these guys are at about three times that. The AP is solely responsible for all content. What Is Happening With The Colorado River Drought Plans? I mean, some people I talked to talk about the creation of a climate czar or a national office of water policy. The state of Utah gets about a quarter of its water from the Colorado, but most of Washington County has only one source, the Virgin River, which fills this reservoir. And, of course, states have enormous autonomy within the federal constitution. 1:32 PHOENIX - Lake Mead has declined to its lowest level since the reservoir was filled in the 1930s following the construction of Hoover Dam, marking a new milestone for the water-starved. The river runs more than 1,400 miles, from headwaters in the Rockies to its delta in northern Mexico where it ends in a trickle. As you said, you know, an incredible amount of water leaks out of the geology beneath Lake Powell and is lost. Even for the 700,000 users, according to CESPT, that are connected to city water, faucets often go dry, forcing them, too, to pay for trucked-in private water. LUSTGARTEN: Yeah, that's exactly right. Colorado River states announce breakthrough water sharing deal. How a 100-year-old miscalculation drained the Colorado River We'll be back to talk more after a short break. The best example of the senior right is Imperial Valley, California. The current evaporative losses from those two reservoirs plus the leakage amounts to about 10% of the current flow of the Colorado River, which is just huge. And yet, you know, over seven years there's been so little action other than watching the steady supply of the river go down and down and down each year. And some of that water goes to Los Angeles and also to the metro area around San Diego. 31 Top Things to Do in Colorado - U.S. News Travel So the idea in combining them is, you know, you create - you reduce two surfaces for evaporation to one. So, I mean, we need some optimism here, right? The rights are divided into senior and junior rights. 4,343. People In Arizona Are About To Face The West's First Major Water Crisis. Bill Whitaker: So all of this would have been underwater? And we're not quite seeing that from this administration or any administration, for that matter. Waylon Wuertz: Correct. Colorado River crisis explained - Harvard Gazette For a transcript of this story, click here. Waylon Wuertz: It's been close to 50% of the water that we've used to-- to farm here. And the states and, you know, governors of the river have just shown a, you know, an unwillingness to respond with the sense of urgency and at the scale that all of that data and science suggest is needed. Updated: June 29, 2023. It's dropped something like 50 feet this year. The Colorado River: What's broken and how to fix it | GreenBiz Seven Western states, which include some of the fastest-growing in the nation, get some of their water from the Colorado River. The Colorado River water shortage is forcing tough choices in 7 states Forty million people rely on the river. What the - you know, the political focus now seems to be entirely on protecting the viability of these two reservoirs. DAVIES: So if agriculture changes dramatically, if California is forced to grow less, what does that mean for the balance of the - you know, the nation's food supply? But also, because they've been so far spared, the state's really, you know, the next on the chopping block politically. Among the last cities downstream to receive water from the shrinking Colorado River, Tijuana is staring down a water crisis driven also by aging, inefficient infrastructure and successive governments that have done little to prepare the city for diminishing water in the region. DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR. HORSLEY: That is a good way to put it. His family has worked on the land for generations. Edited by Sean Kelly. Such emergency water transfers have taken place for more than 50 years, the San Diego County Water Authority said, and have been needed every year since 2018 except one. And you reduce the - you know, the underground leakage. DAVIES: We need to take a break here. Audio will be available later today. Engineered by Sophia Lanman and David Mason. Its common in these types of agreements that the original stakeholders arent really listed, though Native Americans are part of the Arizona allocation. I think that's a reflection of, you know, this at least having some recognized priority within the administration. Theyre at 78 gallons per person per day, which is above the 65-gallon goal for the state, and nearly double metro Bostons 45. The average U.S. family uses more than five times as much water each month, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, yet pays less, despite Mexico's much lower wages. Hamby says California's Imperial Valley farms have cut water usage almost 20% since 2003, but points out as the population of St. George, Utah grows, so does its water use. After food, it's his largest expense. Alfalfa is one of the most water-consuming crops you could possibly grow. DAVIES: Wow. The Gazette discussed what it all means with Scott Horsley, an instructor in water resources policy and watershed management in the Sustainability Graduate Program at the Harvard Extension School. His father, Congressman Mo Udall, fought to channel river water to Arizona. ABRAHM LUSTGARTEN: Oh, yeah. And it's just, you know, become a bit of an intractable problem. And the waters that run through the Colorado River are a primary source of water for 40 million Americans. PRICE: Starting at $99 /adult $94 /youth. They came in early on and put a huge demand on the river. Part of the water law that's pervasive across the West and especially in the upper basin, which includes Colorado, is a stipulation that your water rights are protected so long as you use them. So it wouldn't generate any electricity at all in that case? This was a calculation I did with the help of some European researchers back in 2015 when I was reporting on the Colorado River. DAVIES: You know, we spoke about these issues seven years ago. Southwest states facing tough choices about water as Colorado River In fact, it's only going to get worse. You know, there are some big engineering ideas about resolving these issues. This is FRESH AIR. Zach Renstrom: We're trying to keep every drop of water we can into this reservoir for next year's drinking water. A progressive water-rate structure can provide low rates for a base level of essential water usage with significantly higher unit rates for nonessential usage, such as lawn irrigation. The state government is trying to bring some relief, but it will take time," Muoz said. 17 Best Things to Do in Colorado| Colorado.com So the potential in those figures, as you said, is the entire flow of the Colorado River. Waylon Wuertz: What you see green here is eventually gonna die. But in order to reach an agreement for how we share the Colorado River going forward, the states will probably need to abandon everything that they've held to in the past about how they use that water, about which industries are supported by it and how cities are grown by it. And none of, you know, none of the critiques that I would offer or that the experts that I talk to would offer or that the thousands of articles written on the subject point to are a surprise to anyone. Another dry year has left the waterway that supplies 40 million people in the Southwest parched. As part of the Colorado River. Produced by Jack D'Isidoro and Elisheba Ittoop. And that can happen. Do you think that this is a factor that, you know - that holds the federal government back from taking over - taking stronger policy steps in this area? I think that, you know, there's - the math suggests that there's some clear savings. Its like playing whack-a-mole in terms of trying to see where things are going to pop up next, said Carlos de la Parra, a water consultant and former professor of urban studies and the environment at the Colegio de la Frontera Norte who has studied water issues in northwestern Mexico for decades. As secretary of the interior, his uncle, Stewart Udall, opened the Glen Canyon Dam. DAVIES: You know, it's interesting 'cause you've described your conversations with farmers and ranchers, many of whom understand that water is scarce and conservation is important. And on the way, it passes through seven states. They could be reapportion elsewhere as the need for conservation becomes more apparent. And the states have agreed to a tiered system of voluntary cuts. California's Drought Is Part of a Much Bigger Water Crisis. Here's What Broadcast associate, Emilio Almonte. But that day has come to an end. We spend a lot. That's incredibly complicated, but it's also something that's working. And in many places - most parts of rural Arizona, for example, and across the state of California - if you drill a well on your own property into an aquifer, you can take as much water as you're able to suck out of that aquifer. Bill Whitaker: So, so wait a minute, Arizona is being called on to cut its water intake before California has to give up even one drop? Wow (laughter). The federal government has officially declared the. Amador said the government is working toward developing both. Everybody knows theres been a drought for over two decades, but is it more complicated than that? Slow things are not as dramatic, dont catch attention. And a big chunk of that money is going to go to just those sorts of contracts I just mentioned, to paying farmers not to use water or to fallow their fields for season and preserving their rights after that season. The lower states use just about all their allotment and it's fed their tremendous growth. You know, so once the - you know, the establishment of that Western agricultural culture, you know, was cemented, then, you know, we - there's always been pressure to support those communities, support the culture of farming in the West, and support the function that it serves in providing food for the rest of the country. Bill Whitaker: So what does this tell you about what's happening on the Colorado River? And the main use for alfalfa is to feed cattle. The excessive demands on the river and the effects of climate change have created such a crisis that federal officials are demanding that the seven states that draw water from the river reduce their usage. We've asked him to come back for an update on the crisis and a look at what lies ahead. Bill Whitaker: These white bathtub rings; is-- is this where the water used to be? And that's - you know, that's a legal change that has to be made, you know, on a local level, state by state, by water courts in Colorado or legislatures elsewhere. Bill Whitaker: And what percentage of your water is supplied by this canal? Waylon Wuertz: You're gonna see drastic cuts, a drastic change of what next year has to bring. Through negotiation and court battles, states worked out agreements the law of the river to split the water equally between upper and lower basin states. Let's let ag grow crops that use less water. JB Hamby: There's a lot of urban growth and sprawl occurring in other parts of the Colorado River Basin that's really not necessarily sustainable. A hundred years ago, they didnt know as much as we know now, but they made estimates of flow in the river. The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. Lawn irrigation is a large water demand in climates with year-round growing seasons. Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and California all share water from the Colorado River, a hugely important water resource that sustains 40 million people in those states . Rheumatologist, epidemiologist discusses growth, spread of deer ticks, which transmit malady, and offers tips for how to avoid parasites, Five education scholars examine how admissions processes will change, what it may mean for colleges, universities and nation itself, University remains steadfast in commitment to campus that reflects wide range of backgrounds and experiences, 2023 The President and Fellows of Harvard College. I think a water rate structure is part of it, but you may not get all of the response you want if you simply rely on that. We want to save the river, because for centuries the river has always taken care of us, so now, we have to take care of the river. When the fun begins, your heartbeats could be heightened to conquer the rapids of the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park. The Colorado River is a major source of drinking water for some of the country's largest cities, including Los Angeles and Phoenix. The move comes as the American West faces unprecedented challenges to preserve water that continues to recede rapidly. JB Hamby: Building a multibillion dollar pipeline to pump out more water from an already rapidly declining reservoir simply doesn't make sense in the 21st century. Taxi driver Aurelio Hernandez lives in one of roughly 150 houses in a remote development near vast industrial parks that make aviation parts in the citys south. They go unnoticed, all as we get deeper and deeper involved in the problem. Late last month, the states belonging to the compact missed a federal deadline to come up with an agreement to make water use meet the rivers declining capacity, leaving the decision in the hands of the federal Bureau of Reclamation. Brad Udall has strong connections to the river. The water available during times of acute need, but counted against Mexico's share of Colorado River water traveled through Southern California's behemoth aqueducts and across the U.S.-Mexico border. The damming and diverting of the Colorado, the nation's seventh-longest river, may be seen by some as a triumph of engineering and by others as a crime against nature, but there are ominous new . And if you were a farmer that arrived in Colorado in the 1800s, then you have higher seniority and access to greater water rights than, say, the city of Denver, which has grown, you know, in the latter part of the 20th century. We're living in this drought as if nothing were happening, said Manuel Becerra, a water consultant based in Tijuana and former city superintendent of public services. ATV trail on Engineer Pass near Ouray. Here's how to get it. Smart growth and sustainable development practices can significantly lower the water footprint. It's exported to China, or it's exported to the Middle East. I suspect that there will be much more stringent controls on nonessential water uses and a greater focus on sustainable development practices. And while demand has been going up, supply has been going down. But in the West, in Colorado, all the water laws that we were talking about and the water rights handle these two sources of water as if they're completely separate and independent. Amelia Flores: Because the tribes have always been overlooked in the policymaking and-- and in-- in the law of the river. LOCATION: Silverthorne, CO VIEW MAP. Those arent bad ideas if you have extra water that you can bring there without impacting others. DAVIES: Wow. Then, there's drought. Colorado is the ideal summer destination with unparalleled hiking, camping, horseback riding, craft-beer sipping, wellness getaways, lazy lake days, a rich cultural heritage and so much more. But suffice to say that things that once seemed absolutely out of the question are no longer out of the question. LUSTGARTEN: Yeah. Why keeping the Colorado River healthy is a constant struggle It's the most important source of water in the western United States. New Colorado river water sharing deal : NPR Brad Udall, a climate scientist at Colorado State University, went out on Lake Powell with us. HORSLEY: The climate change stuff is tricky. Then theres the estimated 7% of water that Tijuana loses to leaks, according to the state water utility. In 2021, federal reservoirs in the Upper Basin released water to bolster Lake Powell, management that frustrated many local stakeholders when their river rafting and recreation seasonand the businesses it supportsended abruptly. Its difficult, but we have to deal with it, Trinidad said. Its unlikely that the states are going to come to a mutual agreement here, and California looks like its going to be the most unlikely to agree. August 18, 2022 Summary The federal government on Tuesday announced a second round of water restrictions to states that depend on the Colorado River Basin. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. And significant part of that feed for cattle isn't even for American cattle, but it's shipped overseas. Transcript Enlarge this image Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the nation, has shrunk so low there's concern the Hoover Dam will soon be unable to generate hydropower. Cave of the Winds Mountain Park. Neither one of those are easy questions to answer, by any means. Buena Vista's downtown. Dirt roads so steep they seem vertical lead to the village. HORSLEY: Exactly, and thats whats happening. Colorado River | Location, History, Map, & Facts | Britannica [6] Its drainage basin and some of its usually dry tributaries extend into New Mexico. Wuertz grows gourds, cotton and alfalfa profitable, but thirsty crops and his allotment of Colorado River water is being cut by 70%. Nationwide, more than 44% of municipalities in Mexico were in drought in May, according to Mexicos National Water Commission. Its looked at as a shift in the climate regime that will require deeply rethinking this whole thing? Because the farmers that I talked to in central Arizona, for example - when they considered switching crops, they lose the historical production record, which entitles them to the subsidies. Despite years of promises from federal, state and city officials to diversify Tijuana's water supply using ocean water desalination and treated wastewater, the city has little to show for it. The Sunday Read: 'A Week With the Wild Children of the A.I. Boom' They support cities like Phoenix and Los Angeles and Denver, among many others. The Colorado is the lifeblood of the region. Waylon Wuertz: Pinal County alone, we're gonna be losing 300,000 acre feet of surface water. Certain places come first, and others come second? Lustgarten's 2015 series on the water shortage in the West was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. And so what's happened as a mechanism of that Farm Bill is that as the pressure to use less water, you know, has become more and more apparent and these farmers might have reconsidered what they grow, the Farm Bill steps in as - you know, as an incentive to continue growing the water-intensive crops, to keep that cotton growing. LUSTGARTEN: I have never heard my sources in the federal government that govern western water talk about this concern explicitly or even talk about, you know, sort of the political, you know, consequences of, you know, greater federal action as an explicit reason for slowing down action. The river's biggest user calls deadline "coercion" It was difficult for them to agree how to split the river at the various points historically when they've had to do that, going all the way back to the original River Compact in 1922. Let me reintroduce you. It follows the first-ever federal shortage declaration on the Colorado River, triggering cuts to water supplies in the Southwest. And - but as long as people turn on the tap and get water, and we can buy our carrots and celery grown in California, we're just not going to get that invested in this. DAVIES: Well, I want to be there when they tow the iceberg. Not that we have any difficulty in supplying food to the country right now, but we might in 10 or 20 years with the direction that things are going. He's the author of two books, and his 2015 series on the causes of water scarcity in the American West was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Water utilities are struggling to keep pace with both Tijuana's growth, de la Parra said, and about 8 to 10 years of neglect of infrastructure. If you buy a package of carrots in New Jersey, you've most likely bought carrots that were grown in the Imperial Valley in California. As a young man, Brad was a Colorado River guide. You know, from my outsider perspective, this seems like an incredibly easy change to make and honestly is a little confounding to me that it hasn't been better addressed, you know, up until this date. July 2, 2023, 6:00 a.m. And it illustrates, you know, how the Western culture - the ranching culture, the agricultural culture - is - you know, is both, you know, a vestige of history, but also has become critically important for the economies of those states and for the country. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. It covers 1,400 miles. This agreement has been in effect a little over 100 years, and weve known for quite a while that its not working that well. And so while I haven't heard it explicitly said, I mean, I think it's inevitable that sensitivity to, you know, to that leads to a cautionary approach. What Happens When The Colorado River Runs Dry? - Science Friday And water also goes to Mexico, too. Aerials of large-scale irrigation operations happening in Cochise County. What if different states have competing interests to protect? JB Hamby: We need to think and rethink about how we grow and if we grow and where we grow. Current Rafting Conditions | AVA Rafting And the Farm Bill is essentially designed to support farmers. And so that use called, you know, sort of use it or lose it, which is pervasive across the basin, the amount of water that is wasted that way hasn't exactly been quantified. LUSTGARTEN: Well, I think that if there were a shift in the easy availability of any kind of food you want, any time you want it, no matter where you are, that would point people to the severity of the crisis or the severity of the future crisis. After being moved to reservations, Southwest tribes got rights to about a quarter of the river's flow, but government red tape and lack of infrastructure have prevented them from using their full allotment. Five states Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming and Nevada are done. So we're really talking about, you know, cutting 40- to 50% of current use on the Colorado River. Brad Udall: Pretty amazing. So you know, California will - as things get worse, California will, by that agreement, have to offer up more water. And it's only 32 feet above what they call dead pool, which is the level at which no power can be generated and, actually, no water can pass through the dam. Auctions Foreclosed These properties are owned by a bank or a lender who took ownership through foreclosure proceedings. I mean, what you have is, you know, a national system of food supply and distribution, not to mention an enormous chunk of - you know, of the whole country's population that is entirely dependent on what's happening with water in the West. Crops from Pinal County are shipped all over the country. An irrigation canal outside Poston, Arizona carries water from the Colorado River to alfalfa fields. Waylon Wuertz farms 500 acres in Pinal County, south of Phoenix. And part of what's been challenging is the states have sought to negotiate new agreements while essentially not giving up, you know, the things dearest to them in the present. Read this article to understand how Europe is dealing with similar struggles with water management: Italys largest lake drops to near-historic low amid extreme drought in Europe, A view of Lake Garda in northern Italy in 2018. We'll continue our conversation after this break. Who gets a say in the Colorado River's water supply. He dipped into retirement funds to repair and restart old wells. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer. 6. LUSTGARTEN: A lot of the experts that I talked to say that it is time for a national water policy. The river leaps and jumps through the rock gardens next to the shore. When western states first divvied up the Colorado River in 1922, and later, when the federal government built the Hoover and Glen Canyon Dams, the future seemed boundless and manageable. The upper states have never used their full share. And then, because of California's political might on the system, it has so far avoided, you know, many of the most severe cuts to Colorado River water usage. ProPublica's Abrahm Lustgarten says that water scarcity in the West hasn't been recognized as the national emergency that it is. A water shortage is different, but things got really serious out west this summer. So you know, for example, the federal government declared, you know, a shortage officially about a year and a half ago. It's a very complex relationship with the Colorado River in part because aquifers and rivers, including the Colorado, actually intersect, and so they exchange some water. 1. Bill Whitaker: Is the west on a collision course with climate change? GAZETTE: Is regulation the only other way to go? Well, let's just talk a bit about how we got where we are and what some of the problems are with usage of the water there. Lake Mead, the reservoir created by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado, is now at just 25% of its capacity. In some respects, the crops that are grown place a particularly high burden in ways that probably don't make that much sense, right?