Colorado river Project
1. The current problem is that a 1922 compact for dividing the Colorado River assumed it would flow nearly 17 million acre-feet per year-to be divided between 7 states, 20 million people, and 2 million acres of farmland. Currently, the Colorado is flowing at only 9 million acre-feet per year. And 1.5 million acre-feet are for Mexico every year. The upper basin states (Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah) believe that the lower basin states get too much of the water. The lower basin states (California, Arizona, and Nevada) point out that have more people, more industry & economy, and more farmland-in short, they have more to offer the country and thus deserve all the water they can get.And remember, there is much less water to go around than there was in 1922. 2. The current solution involves giving the upper basin states 7.5 million acre-feet of water per year. The lower basin states were to receive the same, according to the 1922 Colorado River Compact (also called the Seven Party Agreement), but in 1963 the US Supreme Court ruled California would receive 4.4 million acre-feet per year, Arizona 2.8 million, and Nevada 300,000 per year. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover
2. letting farmland lay fallow, with saved water going to cities Obviously, America's farmers are not intentionally being "selfish." Farmers in California's Imperial Valley produce a lot of our food-and are generally very productive. They argue that city dwellers are expanding at too fast a rate (200,000 people annually according to California's Metropolitan Water District web page). Also, approximately 96% of any excess water is lost to evaporation. 2. letting farmland lay fallow, with saved water going to cities All in all, except for the Federal Government's treatment of Mexico, we believe the situation is generally fair. Three years ago, action was taken to improve the environment (releasing water from Glen Canyon Dam). And there is an estimated 1 million acre-feet per year in runoff that is not needed. 96% of it is lost to evaporation. That should be addressed, but it is a question of efficiency, not really fairness And remember, there is much less water to go around than there was in 1922. a) A member of the U.S. House of Representatives from southern California would want to continue his state's taking of excess water from Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. He would also make sure that LA and the Imperial Valley were always the first priorities, although he would probably more inclined to make water available to city dwellers than Imperial farmers because LA tenants have more money.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Arizona Project, Canyon Dam, Energy Departments, Department Interior, Water District's, Arizona Nevada, Currently California, Supreme Court, Imperial Valley, All-American Canal, excess water, arizona project, central arizona project, central arizona, federal government, metropolitan water, water district, glen canyon dam, colorado river, canyon dam, lower basin, 15 acre-feet, metropolitan water district, 15 acre-feet mexico, mexico 15 acre-feet,
Approximate Word count = 3635
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)
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