Colorado River: The United States will reduce Mexico’s water supply due to drought

Some states of the United States and Mexico they will receive less water from the Colorado River to avoid a “catastrophic collapse” of the canalWashington officials said Tuesday, amid record drought.

“To avoid a catastrophic collapse of the Colorado River system and a future of uncertainty and conflict, it is necessary to reduce water consumption in the basin”

More than two decades of well below average rainfall has left the river, a vital waterway in the western United States, at critical levels, which experts say is due to changes in the natural cycle of drought due to climate change. .

Despite years of warnings, The states served by the Colorado River have failed to sufficiently reduce their demand for waterthen the federal government said Tuesday it was imposing cuts.

“To avoid a catastrophic collapse of the Colorado River system and a future of uncertainty and conflict, we need to reduce water consumption in the basin,” said Tanya Trujillo, Assistant Secretary of Water and Science in the Department of the Interior.

Arizona’s river water allocation will decrease by 21% in 2023, while Nevada will receive 8% less. The share of the channel that reaches Mexico will be reduced by seven percent.

California, the largest user of river water and the most populous in the United States, will not be affected next year.

the Colorado River it rises in the Rocky Mountains and winds its way through Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California and northern Mexicowhere it flows into the Gulf of California.

It feeds mainly on snow-capped peaks, whose snow melts slowly during the hottest months, affected by drought and high temperatures.

JM