The World Resources Institute says the seven
Colorado River states have some of the highest
levels of water stress in the nation, based on
the percentage of available supplies they use
in a year. New Mexico was the only state in the
nation under extremely high water stress.
The federal government released a closely
watched projection on whether the Colorado
River system has enough water to meet all the
demands of downstream states in future years.
The river supplies more than 7,000 square
miles (18,000 square kilometers) of farmland
and supports a $5 billion-a-year agricultural
industry, including a significant share of the
nation’s winter vegetables, according to the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages
most of the big dams and reservoirs in the
Western states.
The Pacific Institute, an environmental group,
says the river also irrigates about 700 square
miles (1,820 square kilometers) in Mexico.
Agriculture uses 57% to 70% of the system’s
water in the U.S., researchers say. The problem
facing policymakers is how to divert some of
that to meet the needs of growing cities without
drying up farms, ranches and the environment.
The researchers’ goal is understanding crops,
soil and weather so completely that farmers
know exactly when and how much to irrigate.
“We call it precision agriculture, precision
irrigation,” said Huihui Zhang, a Department
of Agriculture engineer who conducts
experiments at the Greeley research farm.
“Right amount at the right time at the
right location.”