Future of the Colorado River Discussed at Latest Research Landscapes

What does the future of the Colorado River look like?

That question and more were discussed at a recent USU Research Landscapes event featuring Jack Schmidt. The presentation, hosted on Aug. 10 in Salt Lake City, brought together state and community leadership, local agencies, citizens and other stakeholders to discuss the river.

Schmidt, the chair of the Center for Colorado River Studies in the Quinney College of Natural Resources, has more than four decades of experience studying the Colorado River basin and other watersheds in the American West.

During the presentation, Schmidt expanded on the information laid out in a new publication he recently released with his research colleagues. Titled “The Colorado River water crisis: Its origin and the future,” the publication explores the water-use deficit in the West. In the past 20 years, that deficit has drained Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two largest reservoirs in the basin and left 40 million Americans with uncertain water access.

The wet winter that just passed has provided a water surplus that has partially refilled the reservoirs, but it’s a temporary reprieve that will be lost if basin states don’t change their consumption habits, Schmidt said.

“Why do we have to look at the other guy and say it's the other guy's problem?” Schmidt said. “2023 is a rare opportunity; let's not squander it. Whatever policy alternatives we decide on, it's going to make a tremendous difference for the river ecosystems we have left in this glorious place.”

At current consumption levels, the Colorado River basin would need four or five winters in a row like the one that just passed to fully restore the reservoirs. With climate change also impacting water levels, that’s not an expectation that can be counted on, Schmidt said.

“Anybody can understand which number is bigger than what other number and what has to be reduced,” Schmidt said. “I would argue that the most important thing is for every average citizen to understand the simplicity of the need that we must reduce water consumption in the basin to match supply, and that our best solution is to look ourselves in the mirror as an individual and as a state.”

In the end, no singular state or group of people can solve the water use deficit along the Colorado River. Ultimately, the crisis is solvable, but it requires people in the basin states to set aside their differences and work together, Schmidt said.

“Our job is not to protect our interests,” Schmidt said. “Our job is to solve this problem collectively with everybody else.”

Those interested can view the full presentation on the Office of Research YouTube page.

Research Landscapes is an event series hosted by the Utah State University Office of Research and sponsored by O.C. Tanner. The series connects decision-makers across the Wasatch Front with the researchers exploring Utah’s land, water and air.

Learn more about past events and RSVP for future events at researchlandscapes.usu.edu.