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ELSS KQ4 - Coggle Diagram
ELSS KQ4
Colorado river
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Human use of Colorado River:
- longest river in US yet no longer regularly reaches the sea (except for some precipitation)
- river serves 30m people in 7 states & Mexico, 70% or more water siphoned off for 3.5 million acres of cropland
Hover Dam:
- first of the large schemes along Colorado is the Hover Dam
- primary purpose was to control previously seasonal flow of river & provide HEP
- later schemes turned attention to providing water for growing population
CAP:
- Central Arizona Project, 336 mile diversion canal in Arizona
- the aqueduct diverts water form Colorado from south near Parker to central & southern Arizona
Managing the Colorado:
- Colorado River Compact is an agreement among 7 U.S states in the basin of Colorado River which dates as far back as 1922
- many analysis say during 1905-1922 when it was negotiated, there was abnormally high precipitation and recent doubt is in fact a return to historically normal patterns
- decrease in precipitation led to widespread dropping of reservoir levels in region
- 27% california, 23% colorado, 17% Arizona, 11% Utah, 9% Mexico, 5% New Mexico, 6% Wyoming, 2% nevada
Water allocation:
Pros:
- can be effective if all parties abide by rules
- relatively quick to implement (agreement drawn up)
Cons:
- may be compromised if tensions between neighbouring states arise due to unfairness / overuse
- can be difficult to monitor use
- often puts human use of water & not environment first
- may not be appropriate across the globe
Consequences:
- extreme use of water has led to several environmental concerns
- significant impact on river delta since river so intensively used
- before 1922, delta stretched over nearly 3000 sq miles ; today less than 250
Minute 319 Agreement:
- agreement between US & Mexico
- ensures pulse & base flow from US to Mexico to restore River Delta
- makes more water available (helps ecosystems)
- some argue still a work in progress and Mexico not got full water requires
1) increase base flow
2) allow it to flood sometimes (Pulse Flow)
3) rights to some of the water stored behind Hoover Dam
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Cheerful climate change?
Price of renewables has come down, cheaper than coal and gas
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