Who Killed the Colorado River?

This is an open message to PBS Terra and Be Smart; the creators of this video.

This video is very interesting, but a glaring aspect of this catastrophe was missed.

The video concludes that: [12:00] “… a perfect storm of outdated water laws, dams, urban development, nature itself, and … agriculture … killed the Colorado River.”

Yes, these things emptied the river of its water, but did not kill it.

Rather, it was repeated emptying of the river for 90+ years that killed it.

There is an unwritten natural law which states that: “Removing large quantities of freshwater from its watershed will create unintended consequences; usually negative.”

Will conservation help?

The river flow is discussed in terms of a ‘budget’. Every person has a personal financial budget. When unexpected events occur, the budget can be balanced using conservation… for a bit.

For multiple years ‘conservation’ has been the standing order for Colorado River water users. Conservation is a good tool to use when there is a natural cycle in the river’s flow rate, but as the video has proven, the river is broken. Until the river is repaired, conservation must continue, but…

A hydrologic cycle has been broken!

Keeping with the budget scenario. When the tightness in our personal financial budget is caused by the loss of an income stream, then some new income must acquired. The same is true for the river.  

The Colorado River is fed by multiple hydrologic water cycles. Because humans withdrew all the water out of the river (for almost 100-years) humans changed the Colorado River Delta from a 3,000 sq-mi, green, verdant, wet-land into a 3,000 sq-mi, brown, dry desert. This ‘climate-change’ has broken one of the water cycles which used to feed the Colorado River.

The broken water cycle used to collect moisture over the river delta and carry it north. The water cycle was: Colorado River Delta > Laguna Salada, Baja, MX (officially part of the delta) > Salton Sea, CA, US > Great Basin, USA > Great Salt Lake, UT, USA > Colorado Mountains, CO, USA > Colorado River > Colorado River Delta, Baja, MX.

This now broken water cycle was one of several which carried moisture into the Colorado Mountains where 158 named rivers begin. Because of the loss of this one water cycle, all the rivers have a decreased flow. The Colorado River is the focus because this is where the water cycle was broken and because the reduced flow impacts approximately 40-million people. Someone noticed. Repairing this water cycle will return full flow to these 158 named rivers, which includes the Colorado River.

To replace the lost moisture input, to regain the lost income stream, the lost water cycle must replicated.  But can humans replicate a water cycle? Well, if humans can break it, humans should be able to fix it. People are making plans for terraforming Mars; maybe people should run a test project here on earth first?

Fortunately, this water cycle can be replicated. There is a plan, it is fundable, it is simple, and it utilizes natural processes for the bulk of its operation.

Fix the water cycle!

The core of the plan is to move oceanwater into the Great Basin, anyplace within the Great Basin; then let natural processes carry the moisture to the Colorado Mountains. Just enough ocean water needs to be brought in; too much will cause flooding in Salt Lake City. The water level of the Great Salt Lake is the gauge for how much water to input into the Great Basin.

To replace the broken water cycle, it seems best to replicate the original moisture path.

Here is the path:

• Gulf of California > Laguna Salada. The Coyote Canal, Baja, MX exists but it is dry, and it is designed to flow into the ocean.  Reverse the flow of this 60-mile-long canal so it flows from the Gulf of California into Laguna Salada.
• Laguna Salada > Salton Sea. Extend the Coyote Canal so it flows into the Salton Sea. This a 60-mile-long extension must pass through a 150-foot hill. The flow must be metered, so the level of the Salton Sea can be maintained at an optimum level.
• Salton Sea > Great Basin. This is a pumping operation. The rise is less than 2,500 feet and the distance is about 200 miles.
• Great Basin > Colorado Mountains. This is done via natural processes. This is exactly how the previous water cycle operated within the Great Basin, so there is no change from historical norms with this infusion of oceanwater.

There will be multiple benefits of repairing the water cycle.

1. The oceanwater flowing through the delta region will infuse moisture into that area. The path of the Coyote Canal can be modified to allow for a longer canal, so the moisture has more time within the delta to evaporate and join the atmospheric water cycle.
2. The refilling of Laguna Salada will return the fishing opportunity to the indigenous people who own the land. The infusion of oceanwater into Laguna Salada will cause no harm. Laguna Salada is Spanish for Salt Marsh, so putting salty water there is not a problem. Also, Laguna Salada has occasional oceanwater infusion because of tides, so salt water is already being deposited there; it is just that the tides do not occur enough to keep Laguna Salada full.
3. The infusion of oceanwater into the Salton Sea will lower the current hyper-saline content of the sea.
4. Pumping the agriculture-polluted, hyper-saline water out of the Salton Sea will help the Salton Sea return to a usable body inland sea.
5. The saltwater pumped into the Great Basin will replace the moisture previously carried by the water cycle, thus returning the Great Basin to its previous normal environment.
6. The mega-drought will end, and the wild-fire risks will be diminished.
7. The Colorado Mountains will receive enough moisture to return all 158 rivers to their full flows.
8. Returning the Rio Grande River (which begins in the Colorado Mountains) to its full flow will reinforce the USA/MX border.  
9. The whole operation opens multiple points for human activity and commercial opportunities.

Who can do this work?

1. Because this operation spans multiple US states, it must be coordinated by the US government. Fortunately, the government already has an agency in place: The US Bureau of Reclamation. This type of project is fully within their scope of operation. 
2. The cost of constructing, operating, and maintaining the pumping project is considerable, but it can be collected from a water-use fee imposed on those who broke the water cycle, the users of Colorado River water who move water out of the watershed.

Conclusion…

The conclusion of the video proposes hope: [15:50] “… with continued effort and cooperation, maybe one day the mighty Colorado River will reach the sea once again.”

Unfortunately, this will take more effort and cooperation than the video envisions. Without repairing the water cycle the river is doomed. Even repairing the water cycle and returning the river to its historic full flow will not cause the river to reach the sea. The human demand for freshwater will continue to drain the Colorado River. Only by repairing the water cycle and with intentional human intervention can a consistent flow be returned into the delta.

 Proponent.

Move the Water! is the proposed initiative of Active Climate Rescue Initiative. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is founded to actively rescue our climate by encouraging positive climate change through water relocation into earth’s water deficit areas. Anyplace in the world where there is a dry depression is a place where there is a moisture deficit. These places are the key to reversing climate change. By infusing these places with water from an open flow inlet, moisture can be reintroduced into the local environment through hydrologic processes. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is a Michigan Non-Profit Corporation approved by the USA IRS as a 501.c.3 Public Charity.

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