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Colorado River Basin Background Information 

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Colorado River Basin Background Information 

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The Colorado River Basin comes from its headwaters in Colorado and Wyoming. It flows through many states and is often referred to as the life blood of the American Southwest. The Colorado River supply water to many people and agricultural land.

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Since the Colorado River Basin covers seven states, it provides water supply to 40 million people. Both within the basin and outside of it. The water supply from the Colorado river supply water to 5.5 million acres of agricultural land. This includes national wildlife refuges, national recreation areas and parks, and also some federally recognized tribes.

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The Colorado River drainage Basin spans for 260,000 square miles covering seven states. This river is known to be the sixth longest in the country, it is 1,450 miles long as it covers seven states and two nations. This river covers all of Arizona and parts of California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming.

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Another solution could be using nature based solution.A high percentage of the water in the Colorado river start as snow or precipitation in forests. If their is more control in preventing wildfire then this can improve the land ability to retain water and cause an increase in water levels.

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Even though the Colorado river is used for irrigation, it is also used to produce hydroelectric power and supply water to urban areas. This water supply is used in homes, it provides drinking water for people in the U.S and Mexico border. In souther California the Colorado River supplies a third of all the water for this area.

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Agriculture is a major component to the Colorado River Basin's economy, "Agriculture uses about 80% of the water in the Colorado River Basin" (Hager,2022). It produces 15% of the nation's farmland and 90% of winter vegetables such as: wheat, corn, berries, and other fresh produced. The Colorado river supply is also used by farmers to feed their cattle and sheep.All these crops especially the winter crop are connected with the economy in selling the crops.

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The are 29 tribes surrounding the Colorado River Basin, the larges tribe would be the Navajo Nation.All these tribes depend on the Colorado river basin for supply to their tribes. The Navajo Nation is the largest tribe surrounding the tribe. These tribes are seeking for more help from the government in its decisions in regards to what happening to the river and solutions being taken. They feel as if the government Is not including them in what is going on with the solutions and actions taken in regards to the river crisis.

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The Colorado river in lake mead has been going through a drought. Since 2000, the water level has drastically decreased and if it continues to drop then it will affect power supply. Many tribes that gain supply from the Colorado river feel like they are in the dark over the plan from the federal government as to what needs to happen to change the water crisis. There's been different acts placed that give Native American tribes near the basin senior priority on the water supply.

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The Dire Water Crisis Developing Around the Colorado River Basin | Symone

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One of the main reasons to why there is a drought in the Colorado river is due to rising temperatures caused by climate change. This is affecting states like Arizona who are receiving less water than what they usually expected. The rising temperature have caused accelerated evaporation from reservoirs, and melted snowpack that cause the river to dry up earlier in the season. The results of this less water available for people in the area as well as agriculture and wildlife.

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Colorado River: Water crisis in California 

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Colorado River: Water crisis in California 

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With the increase in drought in Lake Mead and Lake Powell the Colorado river is issued to get water supply cuts. Most of California uses the water from the Colorado river for irrigation.The state itself it entitled to 4.4 million acre-debt of the river's natural flow. In 2021, the U.S bureau begun water supply cuts in Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. The federal government has asked for some water supply cuts to occur in California. The California water agencies have stated that they are able to reduce their water supply by one-tenth stating 2023. California is set to cut off 400,000 acre feet of their water supply from the Colorado river.

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This is a casual loop diagram of the Colorado River system with some important leverage points.

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The federal government has began to take a series of actions to try and navigate some the problems with the water crisis. In august 2021 the government implemented a Tier 1 shortage, which meant that the downstream states: Nevada, Arizona, and Mexico. Would not receive their full allocation of water in 2022. The federal government also encouraged that people who reside in these areas to limit the amount of water they used in their homes. The "federal bureau of reclamation also conducted an emergency release of water from reservoirs in Wyoming and Colorado, in order to boost water levels in Lake Powell." (Colorado River in Crisis,2022). This is to try and fix the low water levels that are putting hydropower infrastructure at risk. The lower the water supply the less water access for those around to gain access for drinking water.

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The more water loss within the Colorado river then there will be a decrease in agriculture produce provided. 80% of the water supplies the agriculture farms in the states connected to the Colorado river basin. Therefore, the decrease of water will mean a decrease of crops which will then effect the economy gain received from crops.

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There have been other states such as Utah with water banks  which have come up with agreements with users to share a water resource in exchange to the limited water use they receive compensation as well as legal protection for their water rights.  Lastly the government could work on upgrading old infrastructure, irrigation systems can often time waste a lot of water therefore upgrading some the systems can increase water and protect the wildlife around.

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There are a variety of wildlife that can be found in or around the Colorado river. The water provide habitat for migrating birds, as well as fish. Some of the fish commonly found in the Colorado river are trout, bass,perch, and catfish. Some areas of the river have river dolphins and freshwater dolphins. When climate change is increasing and the temperature is getting worse, not only the water is increasing but there is also an increase in wildfire. These fires not only impact the health of the watershed but also the wildlife living in the area. When millions of trees have been burned this causes an increase of insect and disease cause by droughts to create a decrease in the water.

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-        Water Resources, Colorado River Basin Focus area Study, (October 12, 2018). USGS Science for a changing world. https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/colorado-river-basin-focus-area-study#overview

-        Colorado River, The Beating Heart of the American Southwest, (2022). American Rivers. https://www.americanrivers.org/river/colorado-river/

-        Hager Alex, As the Colorado River shrinks, can new technology save water on farms? The answer is complicated, (January 11, 2022). KUNC.

-        Danelski David, The Colorado River is imperiled; why it matters to you, (November 10th, 2022). UC Riverside News. https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2022/11/10/colorado-river-imperiled-why-it-matters-you

-        Ronayne Kathleen, California agencies float Colorado River water cuts proposal, (October 5, 2022). AP News.
-      Colorado River Basin, A river in Crisis Dire conditions in the Colorado river basin cal for collaborative solutions,(August 28,2022). The Nature Conservancy. https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/priority-landscapes/colorado-river/colorado-river-in-crisis/
- Lohan Tara, Left out to dry: Wildlife threatened by Colorado river basin water crisis, (September, 12, 2022). The revelator.

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Dire conditions in the Colorado River Basin call for collaborative solutions.