Colorado River Flows to Sea of Cortez as U.S. Southwest Deals with Drought

April 27, 2015 – It isn’t much but even a trickle of water that gets to the sea from the Colorado River is a huge change for Northwestern Mexico, something that has rarely been seen since 1960.

How has this come about?

The United States and Mexico have a water agreement, known as Minute 319, to revitalize the lower reaches of the Colorado River delta. As a result the floodgates of a dam on the border of Arizona and Mexico were opened last year and eight weeks later the water made its way 60 kilometers (37 miles) to the sea. It represents 1% of the total river volume but even that small percentage is reviving the wetlands at the mouth of the river, home to more than 300 species of animals and birds including some endangered species. On 53 hectares (130 acres) of protected land the Mexican government has planted a forest of 200,000 cottonwoods and willows which will serve as a migratory haven for birds not seen in the last half century.

In the agreement both countries recognized the value of cooperation managing the Colorado in light of climate change. The agreement which has an end date of 2026 states that the United States will deliver 1.8 billion cubic meters (1,500,000 acre feet) of water from the Colorado River to the lower basin in Mexico annually. This provision is subject to Lake Mead maintaining a surface elevation of 349 meters (1,145 feet). Current surface elevation is 372 meters (about 1,220 feet).

The current drought in the Southwestern United States may lessen the amount of water delivered to Mexico should Lake Mead’s elevation decline further. There are provisions for water reductions should the lake drop below 328 meters (1,075 feet).

As if Lake Mead isn’t already under siege from California and Las Vegas who both heavily draw on the Colorado River water. California has begun water rationing and has an estimated 14 months of remaining capacity. Those cities and farms dependent on the Colorado are facing similar challenges. But at least for the moment there is freshwater once more flowing into the Sea of Cortez and that is bringing life back to the Colorado River delta. The pictures before and after say it all.

Related articles across the web

• Who pulled out the plug? The ‘bathtub ring’ on the banks of the Colorado river that’s thousands of miles long
• Water: Conserving the Colorado River’s Liquid Gold
• Water shortages for Arizona, Nevada and California to begin in 2016 as Lake Mead reservoir plummets