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Drought has eyes turning to Mexico

Posted by: Maven on September 14, 2009 at 8:30 am

la cienegaFrom the New York Times:

“The Southwest drought has reached the point where even drain water is coveted.

The plant may divert the purified water from the Ciénega for other uses under a treaty proportioning the Colorado River. More Photos »

Beginning nearly 40 years ago, the briny runoff from the “salad bowl” of southern Arizona, some of the most productive farmland in the nation, has been channeled into an arid plain of the Sonoran desert in Mexico.

It is an engineered solution to the vexing problem of keeping the nearby Colorado River free of agricultural wastewater too heavy in salt compounds for drinking water and other uses. A result south of the border has been a thriving man-made wetland, the largest in the river’s delta, a key stopover for migratory birds and home to a bounty of endangered and threatened species.

But now the protracted drought in the Southwest has led water managers to rethink the possibilities for the wastewater, placing the preservation of the wetland, the Ciénega de Santa Clara, at the center of a delicate balancing act between the growing thirst of California, Nevada and Arizona and the delta’s ecology. …”

Read more from the New York Times by clicking here.

September 14, 2009 · Filed Under Colorado River & the Southwest

Comments

One Response to “Drought has eyes turning to Mexico”

  1. Ray Walker on September 14th, 2009 12:48 pm

    To my knowledge, there is only one person who has formulated a plan to restore the Colorado River Delta (Ciénega de Santa Clara …The Marsh of Saint Clara)… legally, physically, economically and without damge to the water rights of others with instantaneous releases of a MILLION ACRE FEET each year from water stored in the available air space in Lake Mead filled from a non-tributary fresh water Source that can be developed without damage to the environment or the water rights of others. The offer of a FREE complete confidential disclosure has been made continuously for SIX YEARS to the Bureau of Reclamation and the signatory states of the Colorado River Compact. To date, not a single entity has requested the information, even through a third party water attorney of their choice who could verify the various aspects of the Source.

    Maybe its time to … Stop with fake tears and Start with a simple FREE investigation … WaterSource/WaterBank waterrdw@yahoo.com

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