US states reach “historic” agreement to protect the Colorado River

After long and difficult negotiations, an agreement “historical” was announced on Monday, May 22, by the Biden administration between seven states in the American West for the protection of the Colorado River. This river supplies water to tens of millions of people, but is dwindling in the context of global warming. This phenomenon, caused by our consumption of oil, coal and gas, increases the frequency of droughts in the region. The Biden administration had threatened sweeping restrictions if negotiations between the states remained deadlocked.

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The winning proposal comes from the three lower basin states – California, Nevada and Arizona – which have agreed to voluntarily take action to save 3.7 billion cubic meters of water by 2026. Some of these savings will be “compensated with funds from the Inflation Reduction Act”, a major climate law passed last year in Washington, the statement said. This ad is “the proof” of the’“commitment” from the government to “finding consensus solutions in the face of climate change and persistent drought”Interior Minister Deb Haaland said on Monday.

Nearly 40 million people depend on the river

The agreement is the result of “months of tireless work”Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs said in a separate statement. “We now have a pathway to replenish our reservoirs in the near term. From there, our work must continue to take action and address the long-term problem of climate change.” California has taken things in hand” by committing to “significant cuts in the use of watersaid Monday its governor, Gavin Newsom. The entire western United States is on the front lines of climate change – we must work together to tackle this crisis.”

The Colorado River supplies water to some 40 million people from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California, Mexico, and irrigates millions of acres of arable land to feed America. Many years of drought, aggravated by climate change and an increase in water needs, have reduced the once impetuous river to worrying levels. So much so that the reservoirs and hydroelectric dams along its course are now threatened.