How the West's Energy Boom Could Threaten Drinking Water for 1
in 12 Americans This story was co-published with the San Diego
Union-Tribuneand also appears in that newspaper's Dec. 21, 2008
issue. The Colorado River, the life vein of the Southwestern
United States, is in trouble. The river's water is hoarded the
moment it trickles out of the mountains of Wyoming and Colorado
and begins its 1,450-mile journey to Mexico's border. It runs
south through seven states and the Grand Canyon, delivering
water to Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Diego. Along the way, it
powers homes for 3 million people, nourishes 15 percent of the
nation's crops and provides drinking water to one in 12
Americans. Now a rush to develop domestic oil, gas and uranium
deposits along the river and its tributaries threatens its
future. The region could contain more oil than Alaska's National
Arctic Wildlife Refuge. It has the richest natural gas fields in
the country. And nuclear energy, viewed as a key solution to the
nation's dependence on fo