An introduction to “Water in the West”

From an admitted novice

By Michelle Truly

(Editor’s Note: This is the first part of a three-part series exploring some of the ins and outs, whys and hows of water regulation that impacts everyone in the valley….)

Part I – Introduction

Why should you care about water in the west? Good question. Let me try to pique your curiosity with some interesting facts.

If you live west of the Mississippi River, you know that you live in a very dry and often a desert-like region. Areas east of the Mississippi River see an average rainfall of 40 inches per year. And west of the Mississippi – only 14 inches/year of precipitation is the annual average across ALL of the west. Phoenix and Las Vegas each average only four inches of precipitation per year – the same as the Sahara Desert!

The Colorado River supplies water to almost 40 million people and it gets “reused” every day. From its origin as snow in the Rocky Mountains, the mighty Colorado flows to southern California passing through household sinks, toilets and agriculture fields at least 20 times before it emerges as potable water in a Los Angeles home. Of course, the water is treated at waste water treatment plants (and put back in the river) and purified again before it can be consumed, but that is a lot of reuses!

Eighty percent of the Colorado River water is used for agriculture. You know those beautiful leafy greens and broccoli and the red tomatoes that you get in the winter – they are likely grown in Arizona or California using Colorado River water. And your burger and fries…yup…hay/alfalfa is grown all over the West to feed the large cattle ranches that eventually come to you via McDonald’s. 

You cannot solely blame urban regions for being Colorado River water hogs. In fact, Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver and other western cities together use only 20% of the water that the Colorado River delivers. And Las Vegas has some of the nation’s best water conservation and recycling efforts in the country. Ok, Bellagio Casino, you can keep those famed fountains!

Although the Colorado River flows west from the Continental Divide, it is a major source of water to the Denver region and supplies a significant amount of water to eastern Colorado and Kansas for agriculture. How is this possible? Colorado River water is collected in dams on the Western Slope and pumped over/through the Continental Divide through 24 water tunnels. These tunnels are critical to Denver and the eastern part of the state as that is where 80% of the state’s population lives and yet it only sees 20% of the moisture that the Western Slope gets. Next time you are driving on Highway 285 toward Denver, look for a small, non-descript sign pointing out “Roberts Tunnel.” Twenty-three miles in length, 10 feet wide and almost 4,000 feet underground, the Roberts Tunnel delivers water from Dillon Reservoir to the South Platte River and onto Denver residents.

Yes, water fights in the West are real. Ask any farmer in the Paonia/Hotchkiss/Crawford area about the ditch riders that are employed to catch illegal water diversions or the blocking of ditches. And on the big industrial farms in California, it can get really nasty. Yup…neighbor vs. neighbor.

Now we come to some real problems…the Colorado River is oversubscribed and its flow is diminishing. Underground aquifers are also decreasing at an alarming rate. And the laws and policies that guide water management in the West are REALLY complicated and fragmented. And the stakeholders – well let us just say that they are frustrated and ready for to do battle to keep their water. 

So where does this lead us? 

The rest of this story hopefully provides a bit more information about how we got to this state and the complexities that make finding an equitable solution so difficult. Stay tuned.

Written by Michelle Truly, a Crested Butte resident and retired aerospace engineer, who readily admits that she has no business writing about water in the west but is fascinated by the subject.