The Colorado River supplies drinking water to 40 million people and is the backbone of local and regional economies throughout the seven Colorado River Basin states. But persistent drought, rising temperatures, and decades of water demands exceeding supplies have pushed the river to its breaking point. With snowpack at record lows this year, the health of the river has never been more perilous than it is now.
Conditions in the Colorado River Basin are so dire that, for the second time in four years, the water supply in Lake Powell is at risk of dropping below the minimum level needed to generate hydropower. That means that in addition to water supplies, millions of residents could see costs increase and reliability decrease due to power supply interruptions.
The decisions we make about the Colorado River now will shape life in the West for generations to come. Any plan to protect the communities who rely on the river has to start with protecting the river itself.
The seven basin states missed the latest federal deadline, underscoring the urgency of continued collaboration and sustained investment to protect the river and the communities who depend on it.
The decisions we make about the Colorado River now will shape life in the West for generations to come. Any plan to protect the communities who rely on the river has to start with protecting the river itself. That is why it is imperative that Colorado River Basin states, Tribal Nations, and Mexico do more to work together to manage the river sustainably so it can support healthy ecosystems and thriving communities now and for future generations.
New Operating Guidelines that direct how water will be shared among the states must focus on lasting, sustainable solutions for the Colorado River. But they are only one piece of the puzzle. Guidelines on their own cannot generate new water supplies, address root causes, or mitigate the impacts of supply and demand imbalances on their own. In order for any agreement to succeed, it needs to be backed by long-term funding for strategies that make the river more resilient, conserve water, and protect communities from increasingly severe fires, floods, and drought.
Philanthropy, along with corporations and state governments have a critical role to play in driving solutions. That is why the Walton Family Foundation has been investing in conservation and resilience projects in the Colorado River Basin for nearly 20 years. But the scale of the challenge we face is too big to be solved by these funding sources alone. Long-term, dedicated investment from corporations, and local, state, tribal and federal governments, in natural solutions that make our water resources more resilient are essential.
Work that has been happening throughout the Colorado River Basin provides a roadmap for where funding can be most impactful.
Prioritizing the needs of nature, along with the needs of people, is the only real path to water security.
By restoring wetlands and meadows connected to forests and restoring the natural flow of water, we can help improve the health of rivers and streams across the Colorado River Basin. This in turn helps protect both communities and treasured natural landscapes from the impacts of natural disasters.
Wetlands create natural firebreaks lessening damage from catastrophic wildfires and can help absorb floodwaters before they reach local communities. Projects that slow down river flows in strategic areas along the Colorado River and its tributaries help improve the river’s ability to naturally filter sediment and pollutants as it runs downstream. This creates cleaner water supplies and healthier landscapes.
Regenerative agriculture practices that prioritize the health of the land create long-term water savings while providing healthy food supplies. This includes tactics that rotate the types of crops planted and limit the disruption of soil to keep it healthier and more productive. Healthier farmland that can better absorb and retain water, in turn, keeps local temperature cooler, limits the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere, and reduces dust and the impacts of extreme flood and drought.
Prioritizing the needs of nature, along with the needs of people, is the only real path to water security and the current renegotiation of the Colorado River Operating Guidelines presents a strategic window of opportunity. With collaboration and dedicated, long-term funding, Colorado River Basin states, Tribal Nations, and the federal governments of the U.S. and Mexico can put solutions in place that use the power of nature to ensure safe, secure, and reliable water supplies.
