Originating high in the Rockies north of Boulder, the Colorado River travels 1,450 miles to Mexico. It is a symbolic keystone of the American Southwest, known for carving the Grand Canyon and surrounding landscapes. The reality is that its water is essential for everyday life in the arid states of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. 33 million people depend on it for their primary water supply. Its water supports farms, ranches, cities, suburbs, tourism and a $26 billion recreation industry.
While known for its beauty and symbolism, it is also famous for the ways in which it has been exploited. For millions of years, the Colorado River ran to the Sea of Cortez, yet this came to halt in 1998. Due to an increasing population and a changing climate, demand for its water is way higher than its supply. 12 major dams and countless aqueducts divert its water for a wide array of uses. Among the largest perpetrators is the agriculture industry, which uses unsustainable techniques to convert desert soil into food production—ensuring that us Hoosiers have unlimited access to spinach in January and February.
The average American uses about 2,000 gallons of water a day in the food they eat, energy they use and products they buy, which is two times the global average. While millions of people spend a significant part of every day transporting the water they will use for hydration, cooking and hygiene, others flick on a faucet and have immediate access to cold and clean water.
In her article, “The Missing Piece: A Water Ethic,” Sandra Postel argues that, “in our technologically sophisticated world, we no longer grasp the need for the wild river, the blackwater swamp, or even the diversity of species collectively performing nature's work.” We no longer value the importance of the river, not just for providing ecological services, but for sustaining our own human life.
How do you convince societies to sacrifice some comforts for the wellbeing of people who have not yet been born? In terms of water, the time table might be even shorter. In this case, the question is not about leaving a habitable planet for future generations, but ensuring that, within our lifespans, we leave enough water for our older selves.
The exploitation of the Colorado River is a clear case of unsustainable water management. This will have significant consequences in the coming years, when this water is not only needed to fill our swimming pools, but to hydrate our citizens. Conflict over water rights will only increase in the coming years.
As a society, we must abandon our current utilitarian view of water. We must confront our ever-growing demands of water and work within the ecology of freshwater systems to ensure a future for many species, including our own. Postel calls for a new ethic that says, “it is not only right and good but necessary that all living things get enough water before some get more than enough.” It will be a race against time for societies to collectively produce this new ethic before the environmental consequences of climate change have taken their full effect.
McFall is a senior Prindle Intern from Indianapolis, Indiana.