Headline Roundup • April 13th, 2023
Interior Dept. Releases Proposal to Address Colorado River Drought
Environment,Sustainability,Water And Oceans,Drought,Colorado River Basin,Interior Department,Federal State And Tribal Powers
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Department of the Interior released a proposal outlining potential options to address the drought in the Colorado River Basin.
Key Quotes: “Failure is not an option,” said Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau in a statement from the Department of the Interior. “Recognizing the severity of the worsening drought, the Biden-Harris administration is bringing every tool and every resource to bear through the President’s Investing in America agenda to protect the stability and sustainability of the Colorado River System now and into the future.” In the same statement, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said, “the draft released today is the product of ongoing engagement with the Basin states and water commissioners, the 30 Basin Tribes, water managers, farmers and irrigators, municipalities and other stakeholders.”
The Colorado River: The river supplies water to roughly 40 million people in eight states across the southwest region of the United States. Over the past few decades, the region has been undergoing its driest period in over a century.
The Proposals: The plan includes three main options for addressing the drought. Option one is to continue with existing policies. Option two is to prioritize communities with increased demand for water when making cuts. Option three is to institute percentage-based cuts evenly across the region without giving priority to high-demand areas.
How The Media Covered It: The proposal, which holds national implications on account of the region’s agriculture production, was covered moderately across the spectrum, most heavily in left-rated outlets.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Ross D. Franklin/AP
Even a winter packed with rain and snow could not bring the Colorado River crisis to an end. The river is still drying out. And on Tuesday, government officials announced two historic proposals to prevent the system and the some 40 million people it sustains from crashing.
The proposals seek to slash the amount of river water supplied to cities and farms in the Southwest by as much as 2 million acre-feet, in addition to any existing cuts. It’s a massive number, equal to more than a quarter of the...
Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via Getty Images
The Biden administration proposed actions Tuesday that would significantly reduce water supplies in seven western states amid severe drought conditions that stretch back decades.
The Department of the Interior (DOI) released a draft proposal that highlighted two potential actions it could take to combat the Colorado River Basin's deteriorating water levels. The two proposals would each consist of federally-mandated supply reductions for states that are dependent on the river system which provides water for more than 40 million Americans and is vital for western states' economies.
"Failure is not an...
Eminaldo/Getty
The Colorado River is in a dire state. The river, which provides water for 40 million people, is drying up rapidly due to the ongoing megadrought in the southwest. Over the last century, the river's flow has dropped by 20 percent, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Experts have long feared what it will mean for life in the Southwest as we know it, if the situation were to worsen.
But now, we have a glimpse into what life could be like if the crisis worsens to the...
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