Interior officials and Mexican diplomats shook hands and smiled for cameras Wednesday after pledging cooperation on the Colorado River. Just another ceremony in Washington, D.C.? Hardly.
The meeting marks a new era in Western water politics when parched communities in Nevada, Arizona and California are eyeing water south of the border, not just north from Colorado and our neighbors. "This takes some of the pressure off us as Coloradans," says Glenwood Springs water lawyer Jim Lochhead, a lead negotiator in the deal. Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming must meet their obligation to deliver 7.5 million acre-feet annually to Arizona, Nevada and California, which, in turn, must send 1.5 million acre-feet to Mexico under a 1944 treaty.
If drought continues three more years, Las Vegas is projected to lose 40 percent of its water supply. If it continues five more years, it could lose 90 percent.
That's why they're looking to Mexico for salvation. Water talks between the two countries were set back dramatically in September when the main U.S. and Mexican envoys on the issue were killed, together, in a plane crash.
"We have no choice but to bring in supplies from the outside," says Southern Nevada Water Authority's Pat Mulroy, who also is eyeing piping in water from the Mississippi River to quench her customers. "Mark my words," she continues, "unless we do something considered outrageous by today's standards, the West is going to run dry."
The Mississippi seems to me rather far away. But the fact it is mentioned means that the West is getting rather nervous and desperate.
Mexicali, watch out!
5 comments:
Why don't they just build desal plants.
Why, who?
Denver?
It is a little far from the ocean, it is?
I would love to meet the Denver water people, they seem to be talking "out of their depth". Maybe I could be use to them (My fees are moderate).
Mexicans? Mississippi?
Maybe they meant the Missouri river. The Missouri runs north of Colorado and then flows into the Mississipi.
They may do what we are doing here in AZ: low tech water recycling. The power plants around here are charged with treated sewer water and treated sewer water is used for irrigation of crops and landscaping. I also suspect that the wastewater is treated and used to recharge our aquifer.
One other point. I was watching a water documentary on PBS a couple of years ago and they did a segment on the water problem in Colorado. Until about ten or fifteen years ago water users in Denver did not have water meters. At one point the city wanted to build a new dam to supply the city at a location called Two Forks. The EPA denied the request and as such the city was forced to begin installing water meters on customers lines in order to reduce water usage. I'm going on memory here, so I may be wrong.
NYC until recently included the cost of operating the water system in landowners property tax bill. Landowners were charged a fixed annual amount for unlimited usage. At some point in the recent past NYC finally switched to using water meters.
Far from the ocean -- good point, but perhaps there are some deep saline aquifers. Of course, I suppose the economics probably wouldn't favor this kind of project.
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