For millions of years, the Colorado River was an unbroken chain from the headwaters of Longs Peak in the Colorado Rockies to the Sea of Cortez delta in Mexico. But since 1998, overuse of the river\u2019s water has left 90 miles of dry delta.<\/p>\n
The Bureau of Reclamation maintains that Westerners are using every drop of the river, yet the demand for its water is expected to increase substantially over the next decades. The federal government says use of the river is expected to increase 8.5 percent by 2050.<\/p>\n
Monday night, Miller, Pitt and Chart discussed problems and solutions involving the river.<\/p>\n
Miller told about 350 people attending that oil companies have bought up water rights on the Colorado River in areas where they hope to mine for oil shale, which uses tremendous amounts of water and energy to squeeze oil out of rock. He also said the Flaming Gorge pipeline, if completed, will drain 250,000 acre feet from the Green River, which will greatly impact recreational activities on the river in Wyoming, and result in extremely expensive water for Coloradoans.<\/p>\n
He suggested that through legislation, oil companies and the proposed pipeline can be limited in their river-water allocation. Miller also said that now is the time for parks along the river to legally nail down their future water rights. An example is Colorado\u2019s Gunnison National Park, which three years ago won water rights that will keep substantial river water flowing through it.<\/p>\n Pitt began her talk by pointing out that 25 to 30 million Americans drink the river water, and that agricultural needs account for 80 percent of river-water allocation.<\/p>\n But, she said, \u201cwe are now living in the age of limits,\u201d as water supply cannot keep up with demand.<\/p>\n She explained that, during flood years, four times that of a year\u2019s Colorado River flow is held in reservoirs, and that\u2019s the only reason demand is being met today. \u201cWe sip and gulp our way through storage,\u201d Pitt said.<\/p>\n She suggested that the solutions to balancing the integrity of the river with its utilitarian use are conservation; \u201calternative transfers,\u201d which involves water sharing of, say, agriculture with city use; water banking, which, among other things, protects water for those least able to go without; and in-stream flow protections, which would monitor streams that normally flow into the river to make sure they weren\u2019t being bled dry, which negatively impacts wildlife.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is growing recognition that we live in the age of limits,\u201d Pitt said. The positive aspect of this is that \u201cwe might be able to right some of the wrongs done to this river.\u201d<\/p>\n The final speaker was Chart, who is leading a team to protect endangered fishes in the Upper Colorado River Basin.<\/p>\n Chart said that there are four endangered fish species in the Upper Colorado. And though it\u2019s been difficult, some headway has been made to protect them, with the biggest success story being the razorback sucker.<\/p>\n Helpful to the return of endangered native fishes is flow management of the river water through a delicate part of the Upper Colorado. \u201cWe are able to (control the water) at a time that makes biological sense,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Among the factors for native fish depletion is climate change, Chart said, but he didn\u2019t elaborate.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/stateoftherockies\/files\/2011\/11\/IMG_37921.jpg\")
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