California and Water · Episode 7 of 8 · 47 min
The Colorado River's Fatal Math — and the Line to Mexico
The Colorado River ties California to six other states and another country, and it is running out. The episode follows the river to the border: California's senior 4.4-million-acre-foot share and the pain of cutting it, falling reservoirs, the 1944 treaty guaranteeing Mexico its water, the salinity crisis behind Minute 242, shared shortages under Minute 323, and the post-2026 cliffhanger with litigation looming.
Where it happens
- Colorado River+1 more episodeAbout 1,450 miles from the Rockies to the Gulf of California
- Lake Mead and Lake PowellReservoirs whose levels trigger shortages
- Imperial Irrigation District, CaliforniaLargest single user of Colorado River water
- Colorado River Delta, MexicoOnce-vast wetland dried out and briefly rewetted
- Yuma Desalting Plant, ArizonaCompleted in 1992 and largely idle
Timeline
- 1922Colorado River Compact divides the river on wet-period flow estimates.
- 1944U.S.-Mexico treaty guarantees Mexico 1.5 million acre-feet a year.
- August 30, 1973Minute 242 caps the salinity of water delivered to Mexico.
- 2007Interim Guidelines define shortage tiers; they expire at the end of 2026.
- 2014Pulse flow sends water down the dry delta for about eight weeks.
- September 27, 2017Minute 323 extends shared shortages and delta flows through 2026.
Still debated
Whether cuts should fall on California's legally senior rights is argued, as is whether the Upper or Lower Basin bears more blame. Compact litigation is a real prospect rather than a certainty, and estimates of the flow decline vary.
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