Demand for water from the Colorado River could vastly outstrip
supply in coming decades, as populations that depend on it grow
by nearly 40 million, according to a report released Wednesday
by the U.S. Department of the Interior. GRAPHIC: Colorado River
watershed. The Colorado River's Horseshoe Bend in Page, Ariz.,
is shown on March 5, 2008. FILE PHOTO: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Climate change is expected to further reduce supplies along the
river, a significant source of imported water for Orange County
and the rest of Southern California. The study projects supply
and demand over the next 50 years and lists some 150 solutions
proposed by study participants or the public – from the exotic
and unlikely, such as towing icebergs from the Arctic, to the
more familiar, including increased conservation, desalination
and vegetation control. "Demand is going to grow," Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar told reporters Wednesday. "We're also
going to see a decline in water supply on the Colorado River
basin. That is what all t