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Finding Balance

For millennia, the Colorado River carved the Grand Canyon and the canyonlands as it flowed from the Rocky Mountains to the sea. Today, the river no longer reaches its historic delta in Mexico’s Gulf of California.

Some of the largest dams in the world are on the Colorado River, providing water and electricity to 35 million people in fast-growing cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver and Salt Lake City. The Colorado River and its tributaries irrigate the farms and ranches that produce nearly one-third of the nation’s winter crops and 13 percent of its livestock. In fact, popular activities like whitewater rafting, motor boating, kayaking, fishing, birding, camping and hiking in the region sustain a multi-billion dollar tourism economy.

Unfortunately, early legal agreements created by the states in the Basin divided water based on estimates that the river would supply 20 percent more water than has actually occurred over the last 80 years. Today it is clear—demands on the Colorado River now exceed its supply. Water levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the nation’s two largest reservoirs, have decreased dramatically since 2000, and scientific projections call for up to a 20 percent reduction in precipitation in coming decades. What’s more, it’s predicted that by 2050, 25 million more people will move into areas that rely on the Colorado River, representing an 83 percent increase in population.

Such disparity in supply and demand could have devastating impacts to both people and nature. Something must change. Water in the Colorado River Basin must be managed and used more wisely to ensure its sustainability. More than two-thirds of the river’s water goes to irrigation. Discover what The Nature Conservancy is doing to help bring people together to change the way water is manged within the Colorado River Basin.

This graph demonstrates that the demands on the Colorado River are exceeding the supplies. If we do nothing different, this trend will continue, impacting urban areas, agriculture and the environment.

Demonstrated Innovation

With 15 priority projects on the Colorado River and its tributaries, the Conservancy is uniquely poised to share and demonstrate knowledge gained through on-the-ground work.