"These states, which rely on the Colorado, must agree on how to reduce their water intake from a source that is drying out. Some of those states refuse mandatory conservation measures, opting instead for voluntary action. You may not think so, but this will have an impact on Northern California. It may be somewhat of a cliché, but time is running out for seven states that get water from the Colorado River."
""Oh, it ran out a long time ago. I think we're at a disastrous point. I think history will judge us very poorly," said Felicia Marcus, former chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, Twenty-six years of continuous drought have impacted the flow of the Colorado. Think of its reservoirs as a savings account that continues to be depleted."
"The Colorado River provides water to nearly 35 million people in the U.S., including five million acres of farmland. The river hasn't been able to keep up with the demand. "We use more every year, on average, than nature supplies," said Anne Castle, former U.S. commissioner for the Upper Colorado River Commission. Seven states, including California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, take water from the Colorado."
Seven western states that draw from the Colorado River face a Feb. 14 deadline to agree on how to reduce withdrawals as the river dries. Twenty-six years of drought and continued overuse have depleted reservoirs and left supply unable to meet demand. The Colorado supplies nearly 35 million people and irrigates five million acres of farmland. Southern California takes about one-third of the river's flow. Some states resist mandatory cuts and prefer voluntary conservation, which complicates negotiations and raises the risk of significant impacts across the basin.
Read at ABC7 San Francisco
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