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Introduction
 "Too thick to drink, too thin to plow" is the adage that described the
Colorado River before dam development turned the river into a plumbing system. This report describes the hydrology and sediment transport of the river basin along with and in relation to the political boundaries and basic agreements that manage the river. It then goes on to characterize important problems, both current and future, associated with the
way the river is managed. Finally, policies, actions, and alliances that should help
restore the Colorado River ecosystem to a more balanced condition are suggested.
The Colorado River Task Force was created at the suggestion of Sierra Club volunteers
with expertise in water issues in the West who were concerned that the piecemeal approach
to the vast environmental problems along the Colorado were doomed to failure. These
volunteer activists realized that isolated, parochial efforts, no matter how well
intentioned, sometimes worked against each other and expended vast amounts of energy and
resources without the clear goals necessary to have lasting effect. The goals of the Task
Force are to provide an integrated overview of the Colorado River basins and to suggest
and recommend policies and actions that will promote the restoration of a sustainable
ecosystem along the river corridor.
Executive Summary
 The Colorado River is the major water artery in the Southwest, a region
that is drier than the deserts of North Africa. In spite of the lack of rainfall and very
high summer temperatures, this dry desert is now home to tens of millions of people and
includes some of the major agricultural areas in the United States. By exploiting the
Colorado River, which gets most of its water from snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains,
Americans have made the desert bloom with cotton, alfalfa, fruits, vegetables, specialty
food plants, houses, and artificial recreation areas. An inhospitable desert has become a
playground, and the Colorado River has become a plumbing system.
The creation of this plumbing system has wreaked havoc on the river and
its riparian environment throughout the Colorado River Basin. Not only is the Colorado
River, which serves the entire Southwest, never a mighty river (at 3% the size of the
Mississippi), but adjuncts of the main plumbing system have also removed water through
transbasin diversions.
The end result of the engineering marvel that was once a river is that
most of the native fish are endangered, that major bird migration stops are severely
truncated and degraded, that some of the most spectacular scenery in the world is less
spectacular or in jeopardy, and that the national and world economies are at risk. This
last conclusion is, perhaps, the least expected but is the obvious result of untrammeled
exploitation of a limited natural resource. Because the population and the large
agricultural industry of California and Arizona depend for their very existence on
uninterrupted supplies of Colorado River water and because the Colorado River plumbing
system is overallocated and oversubscribed, the human population has unwittingly left
itself with an inadequate cushion of safety.
Our interests and recommendations address the environmental problems
throughout the Colorado River Basin, but it is important to note that re-orienting the
management goals for this river system will also greatly benefit the human population and
economy by reducing dependence on the unsustainable use of the plumbing system. Our
conclusion that the system is unsustainable is based on the historic occurrence of
extended drought, earthquakes, primarily in the extreme southwestern segment of the basin,
and continued population growth.
The report recommends a concerted and integrated effort to rehabilitate
the Colorado River. Issues and recommended actions are ranked, concentrating on those
areas which are considered crucial and where efforts have a significant chance of
successfully improving the environment. Social and potential economic barriers have been
considered, and policy stances, actions, and alliances are suggested.
COLORADO RIVER DELTA
Relatively small quantities of water - 32,000 acre-feet per year most years with a pulse
of 260,000 acre-feet every fourth year - appear to be the minimum amounts necessary to
revitalize much of the Delta in Mexico. In addition, it is important to protect the surge
flows due to El Niņo events so that this water may flood the Delta and flow into the Sea
of Cortez. The Salton Sea, an accidentally-filled remnant of the Delta within the U.S.,
deserves some level of rehabilitation providing the rehabilitation uses sustainable
methodologies that are likely to succeed and that rehabilitation does not depend on the
use of direct flows from the Colorado River.
ENDANGERED SPECIES
The Endangered Species Act is of central importance throughout the river system. The
totoaba, a fish, and the vaquito porpoise, both residents of the Sea of Cortez, are
clearly endangered, and it is equally clear that the management of the Colorado River in
the United States is directly, and perhaps solely, to blame for their predicament. The
Endangered Species Act is not limited to domestic species and should be a major tool in
attempts to save these residents of the Sea of Cortez, as well as for saving all of the
native fish of the Colorado River. The native fish of the Colorado all evolved within the
constraints of a river that had very high peak flows and very low late season flows, where
drought was a common occurrence. Changes to that ecosystem to guarantee available water
for municipal and agricultural uses and to provide consistent hydropower have decimated
the ecosystem's natural inhabitants and put them well along the road to extinction.
INSTREAM FLOW
Instream flow has had little standing in water deliberations in the West, but public
perceptions and values are clearly changing, and saving some measure of the natural
streams and native fish has clearly become increasingly important. Improving the
acceptance and value of instream flows in the legislatures of the Colorado River Basin
states must be a major goal.
THE GRAND CANYON
The Grand Canyon, one of the premier natural wonders of the world, has had its ecosystem
and natural geomorphic evolution threatened by reduced flows, lack of new silt, and
absence of seasonal peak flows. The most significant culprit in the assault on the Grand
Canyon ecosystem is Glen Canyon Dam. Some relief may well be attained by significant
changes in dam operation. Whether reoperation of the dam can adequately compensate for the
environmental degradation caused by the dam must await more data before a definitive
answer can be given. The Glen Canyon Institute is currently conducting a Citizens
Environmental Assessment, with some funding from the Sierra Club Colorado River Task
Force, which, it is hoped, may greatly aid in answering this question.
UNSUSTAINABLE WATER USE
The Colorado River System is being utilized for urban population growth and for
agriculture to an extent that is unsustainable. Although the Upper Basin States are not
using their full allotments, California is exceeding its share by more than 800,000
acre-feet. The growing areas near St. George, Utah, and Las Vegas, Nevada are attempting
to divert additional water for continued growth. Under intense pressure from the six other
basin states and the Secretary of the Interior, California is currently developing a
long-term plan to reduce its use of Colorado River water to its 4.4 million acre-feet
allocation. It is important that California be forced to fully adhere to this plan and
that areas without sufficient water to sustain larger populations must be restricted from
contributing to the unsustainable condition of the entire river basin.
TRANSBASIN DIVERSIONS
Transbasin diversions of water from less populated regions to sustain human endeavors in
populated basins have forever altered the ecology of the Southwest. Few new transbasin
diversions can be engineered only because most unpopulated basins have already been raided
for water. Of the small number still being considered, the Animas-La Plata Project, which
in its current form is no longer a transbasin system, Homestake II, Uncompahgre Valley
Water Users Association's AB Lateral, and Union Park projects, all in Colorado, and the
Gooseberry Narrows Project in Utah should be vigorously opposed.
WATER QUALITY
Extensive water diversion has resulted in water with too much salt and selenium and with
Total Maximum Daily Loads in violation of the Clean Water Act. Forcing the EPA to demand
and the states to develop TMDL allocation and implementation processes to meet the
requirements of the Clean Water Act are a necessity.
GLEN CANYON RESTORATION
The possibility that Glen Canyon Dam may be too great a price to pay for a small measure
of extra security for the Upper Basin States is an important consideration.
Decommissioning of the dam would clearly restore the riverine ecosystem from Lake Powell
to Lake Mead to a near-natural condition and would also restore one of the unique,
magnificent canyons of the Southwest. The intent of the Washington County Conservancy District in southwestern Utah to pipe water from Lake Powell and the desire of Las Vegas to obtain water in any way possible threaten any eventual restoration of this extraordinary canyon.
FACILITY TRANSFERS AND WATER EXCHANGES
Water facility transfers have already been the subject of guidelines developed by the
Sierra Club. Constant vigilance is required to be sure that such transfers, which require
Federal legislation, are in compliance with environmental laws and in the best interest of
the public. Water marketing and water exchanges could work contrary to good environmental
practice or could be effective management tools for allocating water in a more
environmentally sensitive fashion.
Photo credits: top left: Vulcan's Anvil and Lava Falls
from Toroweap Point, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ; top right: Entrance to Monument
Canyon, Colorado National Monument, CO; bottom right: John James Hunter (Tohono O'Odham)
displaying fish caught in drained canal during visit with Hopi grandfather, Colorado River
Reservation, AZ. All photographs copyright Stephen Trimble.
Photos: (top) Vulcan's Anvil and Lava Falls from Toroweap Point, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ; (middle) Entrance to Monument Canyon, Colorado National Monument, CO; (bottom) John James Hunter (Tohono O'Odham) displaying fish caught in drained canal during visit with Hopi grandfather, Colorado River Reservation, AZ; All photographs copyright Stephen Trimble.
Report Main | Background
| Conclusions
Recommendations | References
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