Page 86 - Upper Basin News Today

In November 1922, seven land-owning white men brokered a deal to allocate water from the Colorado River, which winds through the West and ends in Mexico. The divvying up between

‘The law of the river is not suited to what the river has become’

During the past two decades, pressure has intensified on the river as the driest 22-year stretch in the past 1,200 years has gripped the southwestern U.S. As water levels plummet, calls for reduced use have often been met with increased population growth.

During the past two decades, however, the situation on the Colorado River has become significantly more unbalanced, more dire.

‘The law of the river is not suited to what the river has become’

A drought scientists now believe is the driest 22-year stretch in the past 1,200 years has gripped the southwestern U.S., zapping flows in the Colorado River.

In November 1922, seven land-owning white men brokered a deal to allocate water from the Colorado River, which winds through the West and ends in Mexico.

In November 1922, seven land-owning white men brokered a deal to allocate water from the Colorado River, which winds through the West and ends in Mexico.

The Biden administration has given Western states a deadline to tackle the escalating water-shortage emergency.

An ongoing megadrought, impacts of climate change and systematic overuse have created a crisis for the Colorado River, an essential water source for 40 million inhabitants of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.