Living with the river we have, not the river we want.
The Colorado River water users in the Upper Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming divert water from the Colorado River and its tributaries. Because there is less snow and a more arid climate, less water flows through the rivers, reducing the water available to support farms, tribes, cities, industry, the environment, recreation and power generation. The Upper Basin experiences these water supply reductions every year. We call these water supply reductions hydrologic shortages. As the Upper Basin prepares approaches to improve the river’s health, it is vital to understand how the Upper Basin manages water rights and uses and the impacts of hydrologic shortages.
The Upper Division states, through the UCRC, have prepared a compilation of shortage stories and an accompanying visual to illustrate these hydrologic shortages.
The infographic on hydrologic shortages can be viewed here.
The Upper Basin Hydrologic Shortage Stories can be viewed here.