Thirsty Nevadans take only 3 percent of Colorado River Periodically, especially during dry years, such as 2013, thirsty-for-stirring-things-up media put the spotlight on how less Colorado River water looms for the Southwest --- especially the growing Las Vegas area --- and certain steps will have to be taken to limit usage, observes GrumpyEditor. But what is not emphasized is that the whole state of Nevada, not just Las Vegas, sips only 3 percent of the Colorado River water released from Lake Mead while a foreign country, Mexico, siphons five times more from the same source. The water also is shared by six other states: Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Mexico was included via a treaty way back in the 1940s. So it’s not unusual to read predictions such as “without dramatic and wide-ranging action, population growth and climate change will overwhelm the Colorado River within 50 years.” It’s natural for dry periods to alternate with wet seasons. With the latter, when there are large spring-summer runoffs from heavy snowfalls in western mountains, very little “water pinch” rhetoric emanates from media. If water supply is of such concern, then perhaps the decades-old treaty with Mexico should be renegotiated to reflect population changes in the U.S.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 01:41:17 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015