The Colorado River flows from Northern Colorado through the Western US, providing water to most of the metropolitan areas in the Southwest.
Roughly 40 million people rely on the Colorado River for water, half of which live in Southern California. The demand for water is steep and takes a major toll on the river’s water levels, particularly as precipitation has decreased in many areas in the last several years.
Jack Schmidt is a natural resources professor and Janet Quinney Lawson Chair in Colorado River Studies at Utah State University.
“The Colorado River provides all or part of the water supplies of significant metropolitan areas: all of Southern California; Phoenix, the fifth largest city in the United States; Tucson; all of the water supply for Las Vegas; supplemental water supply for Albuquerque; supplemental water supply for the Wasatch Front, including Salt Lake City; and supplemental water supply for the Colorado Front Range,” Schmidt explained.
About 70% of the water taken from the river goes to agriculture production, including the Yuma and Imperial Valleys, both of which are major sources of vegetables and salad greens in the winter months across the U.S. and Canada.
Not only are many states heavily reliant on the water supply of the Colorado River, but it is also a major fixture in the landscape throughout the West.
“It's the heart and soul of Canyonlands National Park, of Dinosaur National Monument, most importantly of Grand Canyon National Park. And it's the reservoirs that are managed by the Park Service at Lake Powell and Lake Mead. So it's the heart and soul of the landscapes that inspire us and it's the water that supplies the economies in the food we eat,” said Schmidt.
Stay tuned for the next installment, where we’ll focus on how this year’s snowmelt will affect the Colorado River, Lake Powell and Great Salt Lake.
