The Price of River Water May Be Going Up

Under the terms of a new plan, the federal government will effectively pay to keep gallons of water in the Colorado River and off of irrigated farm fields.

By Matt Hrodey
Jun 15, 2023 7:00 PM
Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam
Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. (Credit: Structured Vision)

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It sounds like an advertisement for bottled water: The flowing Colorado River emerges high in the Rocky Mountains, from snows untouched by man. It tumbles down through seven states and the two largest reservoirs in the country, lakes Powell and Mead, crossing some 1,450 miles. Along the way, it winds through the Grand Canyon, a project 6 million years in the making.

But the storied river’s final flourish, to empty into the Gulf of California, doesn’t happen anymore. The once vibrant Colorado River Delta is now just a dried-up riverbed on most days. What's left of the mighty river sits hemmed in by the Morelos Dam on the U.S.-Mexico border, which releases only a small stream.


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