2.4 - Colorado Compact Flashcards
What are the three water laws?
Helsinki (Whoever was there first can;t lose it), Salzbuirg (1961) Treaty/Athens (Cannot pollute downstream) & ILC (Can’t harm another country)
What three states got to the river first?
New Mexico, Colorado & Wyoming
What % of water do the indigenous groups, by law, have access to? And since when?
5% and since the 1880s
The Colorado River Compact of 1922 is an agreement between how many and which states?
7 States - Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, California & Nevada
Which state has been using more water than its allocation and how?
California - Buying off surplus water that has been left over from other states such as Wyoming (however Wyoming is selling it at a higher price than they paid for it)
Nevada’s increasing use of water has threatened which water source?
Ogallala Reservoir is emptying and Las Vegas city is subsiding
What is the name of the boundary between the upper and lower basins of the Colorado river?
Lee’s Ferry - in Coconino County, Arizona, about 7.5 miles (12.1 km) southwest of Page and 9 miles (14 km) south of the Utah–Arizona border.
Which state would be most against lining the Colorado river with concrete and why?
Mexico - unknown to the US states (or the federal government), the state secretly benefits from groundwater leaking from down from the River into aquifers underground and into Mexico
Lake Mead has dropped to a record low of what value in feet? Why is this an issue?
Dropped below 1080 feet (Max capacity 1220 feet) - Issue because Las Vegas gets 90% of its water from here - States that use Lake Mead: Arizona, California & Nevada
What was the 1922 Colorado River Compact allocation of water and what is the current allocation of water following climate change?
1922 - 16.4 million acre feet per year (with 1.4 million for Mexico)
Current - 13.2 million acre feet per year
