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Colorado River may face fight of its life; Increased toxins likely as energy companies seek oil, gas, uranium

Posted by: Maven on December 21, 2008 at 7:49 am

From the San Diego Union-Tribune:

The Colorado River has endured drought, large-scale climate changes, pollution, ecological damage from dams and battles by seven states to draw more water.

Now the life vein of the Southwest faces another threat: Energy companies are sucking up the Colorado’s water to support increased development of oil, natural gas and uranium deposits along the river’s basin. The mining and drilling will likely send more toxins into the waterway, which provides drinking water for one out of 12 Americans and nourishes 15 percent of the nation’s crops along its journey from Wyoming and Colorado to Mexico.

Tapping the watershed is enticing because its resources could help reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. The region could contain more oil than Alaska’s National Arctic Wildlife Refuge. It has the richest natural gas fields in the country and plenty of uranium deposits.

But scientists and water managers warn that in the rush to develop more domestic energy, the government is failing to understand that the river’s economic and ecological value is as vital to U.S. interests as anything extracted around it.

The river is so beleaguered by drought and past pollution that one environmental study called it the nation’s most endangered waterway. Researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla said the river’s reservoirs could dry up in 13 years, depriving regions such as San Diego County of their main source of water.

In the eight years President Bush has been in office, the Colorado River watershed has seen more oil and gas drilling than at any time since 1984, when the government began keeping such statistics. Uranium claims have reached a 10-year high. Last week, the administration auctioned off 359,000 acres of federal land for natural gas projects within range of two national parks near Moab, Utah. And a last-minute change in federal rules has paved the way for water-intensive oil shale mining in the watershed.

As Bush tries to complete his agenda for development, water managers and politicians focusing on the Colorado River are asking which is more valuable: energy or water?

Read more of this comprehensive article from the Union-Tribune by clicking here.

December 21, 2008 · Filed Under Colorado River & the Southwest

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