US states reach agreement to save Colorado River
Western US states said on Monday they have reached an agreement to cut the amount of water they take from the dwindling Colorado River, which is threatened by a quarter of a century of drought and worsening climate conditions. The plan comes after years of bitter wrangling, with states refusing to give ground even as the water course has reached crisis point, threatening drinking water supplies for 40 million people, and imperiling electricity generation across the American West. Under the proposal, the federal government will pay a reported US$1.2 billion to water districts, Native American Tribes and cities in California, Nevada and Arizona to use less water over the next three years. The states themselves will also cut their use, though they will not be compensated. The reductions will reduce the amount of water taken from the once-mighty Colorado by three million acre feet, or about 13 percent of all the water it supplies. An acre-foot refers to an acre covered in water a foot deep – around 1.23 million litres or about half an Olympic-size swimming pool. "The entire Western United States is on the frontlines of climate change – we must work together to address this crisis and the weather extremes between drought and flood," California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a release welcoming the agreement. "California has stepped up to make significant cuts to water usage and now, this historic partnership between California and other Lower Basin states will help maintain critical water supply for millions of Americans as we work together to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Colorado River System for decades to come." The Colorado River runs through seven US states and Mexico, supplying drinking water and hydropower, and irrigating some of the country's most fertile farmland. But what was one of the world's great rivers has now shrunk. Human-caused climate change means the once-bountiful snowpack that feeds the river has dwindled. (AFP)