Tracking the Water-Grab in the Colorado River Upper Basin

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The flows of the Colorado River have declined by about 20 percent since 2000 and scientists expect flows to decline another 10-20 percent in the coming decades. Simply put, there isn’t as much water to go around as in the past.

To make matters worse, we have no safety net. The nation’s two largest reservoirs hover between 30 to 40 percent of capacity. No credible scientists expect them to fill in the coming decades.

Instead of adapting to this difficult reality, Upper-Basin States (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) are proposing a long list of new projects that will divert and dam more than 1 million additional acre feet of water every year upstream of these critical reservoirs. If completed, these projects will decrease the amount of water flowing to Lake Mead. These efforts highlight the discrepancy between “paper water” (water rights allocated on paper) and “wet water” (the actual water available).

The Great Basin Water Network’s “Upper Basin Water-Grab Map” tracks these projects to take more water. We will continue to stay vigilant and work to ensure that existing rights holders, the public interest, and the natural world all remain intact. Follow Great Basin Water Network and support our work tracking and birddogging entities that are looking to overuse our most precious resource.

Explore the map, to learn more.

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