"Snaking across 1,450 miles (2,300km) from the Rocky Mountains into Mexico, the Colorado supplies roughly 40 million people in seven states, 5.5m acres (2.23m hectares) of farmland and dozens of tribes. The waters fuel an estimated $1.4tn in economic activity, and raised bustling cities, including Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas. The sprawling basin is also home to diverse ecosystems, with scores of birds, fish, plants and animals, and provides critical habitat for more than 150 threatened or endangered species."
"As demand continues to grow, rising temperatures and lower precipitation caused by the climate crisis are taking an increasingly larger share of declining supplies, a trend only expected to worsen as the world warms. Up to 4m acre-feet of cuts are needed to bring the basin back into balance. One acre-foot, a unit denoting the amount of water that can cover a football field one foot deep, is equal to roughly 326,000 gallons."
The Colorado River runs 1,450 miles from the Rocky Mountains into Mexico and supplies roughly 40 million people across seven states, 5.5 million acres of farmland, dozens of tribes, and supports about $1.4 trillion in economic activity. Major cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas depend on it. The basin provides habitat for more than 150 threatened or endangered species. The river has been overdrawn for more than a century, and climate-driven higher temperatures and lower precipitation are reducing supplies. Up to 4 million acre-feet of cuts—over a quarter of average annual flow—are needed to rebalance the basin, and a record snow drought increases urgency.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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