Enlarge imagePhoto:
RHONA WISE / AFP
Several U.S. states want to conserve water in view of the low level of the Colorado River as a result of prolonged drought and the climate crisis. California, Arizona and Nevada pledged to use about 2026.3 trillion liters less water by the end of 7, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior. According to reports, this corresponds to a reduction of around 13 percent, for which a total of 1.2 billion dollars (1.11 billion euros) in compensation is to flow to affected communities and areas.
The background to this is the water level of the Colorado River, which has been falling for years and flows over 2000 kilometers from the mountains of Colorado through the Grand Canyon to Mexico.
Large-scale agreement not yet in sight
A drought that has persisted for several decades, together with the climate crisis, has recently caused the water level to drop to such an extent that the supply of drinking water and electricity to a total of 40 million people as well as parts of agriculture are increasingly at risk. This is especially true for California, Arizona, and Nevada downstream, but it also poses major challenges for Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Utah.
A particular problem is the Lake Mead and Lake Powell reservoirs, whose power plants need a certain water level to generate energy. Because of the looming crisis, the U.S. government pushed for a solution and wanted the states to agree together on a reduction in water consumption of about 15 to 30 percent. A corresponding deadline for this had passed a few months ago.
atb/dpa/AP