Colorado River District.org
By Alex Hager/KUNC/Cronkite News
The river that supplies water to 40 million people in the Southwest is alarmingly dry. Since the federal government declared a water shortage this summer for the first time, the Colorado River has been thrust into national headlines, and so have the scientists and decision makers who track and shape its future.
Next week, hundreds of them will gather under one roof for the first time since the shortage was declared in August. This will be the 76th time the Colorado River Water Users Association has met, but this year’s conference in Las Vegas will be under a new magnifying glass.
“This used to be more regional,” said John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority. “Maybe occasionally a national story. But we saw people discussing the Colorado River as a case study in Glasgow. So there certainly is a lot more attention being paid to it.”
Entsminger was alluding to COP26, the United Nations climate conference held in Scotland this summer. Beyond the increased media attention – Entsminger said he’s done “dozens and dozens of interviews” with news outlets from all over the world – conditions in the basin are deteriorating more quickly than water managers had hoped, providing an inescapably urgent backdrop to discussions.
