Grand Canyon Trust Sparks Discussion of Drought Solutions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: (Back to Press Releases)
June 13, 2005

FLAGSTAFF, Arizona – After five years of drought in the southwest and the states’ lack of progress in developing a plan to deal with possible water shortages, the public will finally get a chance to have its say. Beginning this Wednesday, June 15, the Department of Interior will accept public input about perhaps the single most important issue in the arid West – dwindling water supplies coupled with explosive growth. (See Federal Register Notices at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/)

The Grand Canyon Trust, today, released a report on the implications of the ongoing drought to the states that rely on the Colorado River for their water supply. The report, entitled The Colorado: A River at Risk, Coping with Drought in the Colorado River Basin presents options for dealing with the growth-drought dilemma. “The drought has focused attention on the looming water crisis in the basin,” said Lisa Force, Program Director at the Grand Canyon Trust and author of the report. “But the problem is much bigger than drought. The problem is unchecked, poorly planned growth, which depends on an already overburdened river system and ignores environmental considerations.” The Colorado: A River at Risk contends that it is time to design a new system for sustainable Colorado River use, beginning with immediate planning for a potentially long-term drought.

In December of 2004, Interior Secretary Gail Norton asked those western states reliant on Colorado River water to design a plan for dealing with the drought should it continue. Instead, long festering disagreements erupted and, after many meetings – most held in secret from the public, state negotiators failed spectacularly. Not only did they fail to produce a plan for cutting consumption, all the basin states except California are planning to increase consumption.

“Strong leadership at the federal level is absolutely necessary,” stated Bill Hedden, Executive Director of the Grand Canyon Trust. “Individual states generally do not worry about what is best for the basin as a whole.” The Grand Canyon Trust hopes its policy paper provides a starting point for public discussions about how to drive change.

Several nationally recognized experts on western water and public land law served as advisors to Ms. Force on the paper. It is intended to be a resource for policy makers and was written to spark discussion and to encourage all stakeholders to consider a broad review of basin state water use and determine how to begin making the fundamental changes that will be necessary if southwest communities are to thrive and wildlife and wildlands are to survive.

While the basin received a reprieve from dry conditions this past winter, many scientists believe that the drought is not over. “Even if the drought is over, there is going to be less and less water per person in the basin because of growth. We simply cannot continue using water recklessly,” Ms. Force concluded.

The Colorado: A River at Risk (1.38MB PDF)*.

For more information contact:

• Lisa Force 623-217-3230 (Email)
• Bill Hedden 435-259-5284

For additional background information on Grand Canyon Trust see: www.grandcanyontrust.org

### END NEWS RELEASE ###

(Back to Press Releases)