Some US states and Mexico will have to reduce their water consumption to avoid “catastrophic” consequences for the Colorado River, while the region is suffering from a historic drought, the federal government announced on Tuesday.
After more than two decades of lower than usual rainfall, the level of this river – essential for the American West – is alarming. Drought cycles are aggravated by human-induced climate change.
Despite years of warnings, states that depend on the river have failed to sufficiently reduce their water needs, leading federal authorities to impose restrictions on Tuesday.
“To avoid a catastrophic collapse of the Colorado River system and a future of uncertainty and conflict, water use in the basin must be reduced,” said Tanya Trujillo, an official with the federal resources agency. in water.
Arizona will receive 21% less water in 2023, Nevada 8% less and Mexico, where Colorado ends its run, 7% less.
California, the largest user of the river’s water and the most populous US state, will not be affected next year.
Officials from states located up the river have denounced a decision deemed unfair.
“It is unacceptable that Arizona should continue to bear a disproportionate share of the burden of cuts [d’eau] for the benefit of others who have not contributed” to the effort, said in a press release Tom Buschatzke and Ted Cooke, two senior officials of the water services in the southwestern state of the United States. .
The Colorado River originates in the Rocky Mountains and meanders through Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California, and northern Mexico, where it empties into the sea.
It is mainly fed by snowfall which accumulates during the winter at high altitudes, before gradually melting during the warmer months.
But under the effect of climate change, precipitation is decreasing and the snow is melting faster, depriving a river of some of its resources, which supplies water to tens of millions of people and many farms.
The Interior Ministry, which manages natural resources in particular, is doing everything in its power “to preserve water” and ensure that all those affected receive “adequate assistance”, the deputy minister said. Tommy Beaudreau.
“The increasingly severe drought affecting the Colorado River watershed is due to the effects of climate change, including extreme heat and low rainfall,” he said.
The American West is experiencing its 23rd year of drought, making it the most severe episode in more than 1,000 years.
This dry environment facilitates the spread of increasingly destructive forest fires.
Local measures are also being put in place in cities served by the Colorado River, such as Los Angeles, with, for example, unpopular restrictions on outdoor watering.
