Supporting

Supporting

• Supporting

• Soil formation: sediment retention and accumulation of organic matter
• Nutrient cycling: storage, recycling, processing, and acquisition of nutrients
• Pollination: support for pollinators

Prior appropriation

• Prior appropriation

• Present Perfected Rights

• 1922 - The Colorado River Compact

• Upper and Lower Basin allocations of 7.5 maf each

• 1928 - The Boulder Canyon Act

• Hoover Dam and the All-American Canal

• 1944 - Treaty with Mexico

• 1.5 maf to Mexico

The Delta is currently economically justifiable.

• The Delta is currently economically justifiable.

• The Delta is not “dead.”

• Conservation Priorities - A Map of the Possible

• La Ciénega - MODE Canal
• Limitrophe and the Riparian Corridor
• Andrade Mesa - All-American Canal
• Río Hardy - Drainage Water in Mexico

8 hectáreas de Mesquite

• 8 hectáreas de Mesquite

• 1,000 árboles plantados con irrigación

• La Familia Mosqueda se espera que plante entre 5-10 Has de mesquite en los próximos años

Only 6 million people in the Basin, but CR supplies water to 30 million

• Only 6 million people in the Basin, but CR supplies water to 30 million

• 8 of the 10 fastest growing cities are in AZ, NV and CA

• Top three are in Phoenix and Las Vegas areas

• An average of 175 new homes went up in the Phoenix area every day in 2005

• Enough water in AZ for at least another 60 years of growth

• Issue is not lack of water but environmental and social costs of unrestricted growth

Highly engineered system, physically controlled by an incredible system of dams and canals

• Highly engineered system, physically controlled by an incredible system of dams and canals

• Highly regulated system, institutionally controlled by a system of rigid protocols, rules, laws and an international treaty

• Decision makers can improve management of the Colorado River by looking at trade-offs among policies

1. Ecosystem changes in last 50-75 years

• 1. Ecosystem changes in last 50-75 years

• Construction of 2 major reservoirs
• Flows from Glen Canyon dam now determined by needs of water and power customers downstream rather than natural processes
• Tremendous growth of cultivated and urban areas in the Lower Basin
• Salt cedar becomes the dominant species along the lower mainstem
• River no longer regularly flows into the Sea of Cortez

• 2. Gains and losses from ecosystem change

• Degradation of ecosystem services
• Negative impacts on beaches and native fish and plant species in Grand Canyon
• Delta reduced from 1.9 million to 150,000 acres
• Salinization of soils in the Mexicali Valley
• Exacerbation of poverty for certain groups
• Cucapa way of life and culture threatened with extinction

• 3. Ecosystem prospects for next 50 years

• Depends to a large degree on growth and policy choices
• Climate change may drastically reduce flows and raise sea level
• Impacts on ecosystems and accompanying services can be mitigated

• 4. Reversing ecosystem degradation

• Restoration of riparian ecosystem in Grand Canyon and of key elements of Delta ecosystems is possible at a relatively low cost

• Dry Future

• 39% decrease in flows due to climate change

• Limited interstate water market

• Continued unrestricted urban growth

• No water for ecosystems beyond existing commitments

Interstate storage and delivery of conserved water (Basin States alternative)

• Interstate storage and delivery of conserved water (Basin States alternative)

• Extension of ICS concept to Mexico

• Missed opportunity to use market mechanisms to dedicate instream flows to the Delta

Extension of ICS to Mexico + dedicated environmental flows

• Extension of ICS to Mexico + dedicated environmental flows

• Vision for the arid West

• Protection of rural landscapes
• Managed urban growth
• Base and pulse flows for the Delta

Bi-national ecosystem-based management

• Bi-national ecosystem-based management

• Restoration of the Delta and estuary

• Water conservation in both cities and agriculture