Colorado River Tops 2013 Endangered Waterways List

Published on April 18, 2013 08:32 by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Social

Drought and demand are pushing the Colorado River beyond its limits — with the needs of more than 40 million people in seven Western states projected to outstrip dwindling supply over the next 50 years, according to an endangered rivers list released Wednesday.

The annual top-10 list by Washington, D.C.-based American Rivers points to a three-year federal Bureau of Reclamation study that warned last December that the river won't always be able to serve all the residents, businesses, ranchers, Native Americans and farmers who rely upon it.

Already, the Colorado River is drained of nearly every drop by the time it reaches Mexico, American Rivers spokeswoman Amy Kober said.

The listing drew an endorsement from an Interior Department official who praised it for raising the profile of problems facing what she called a critical resource.

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