Colorado River Getting (Some of) Its Delta Back

Colorado River near Moab, Utah.

Most Americans are vaguely aware that the Colorado River is ... mighty. Some of us are even aware it is excellent for rafting as it flows through the Grand Canyon, and on down to some very impressive man-made lakes named Powell, Meade, and Havasu.

Lake Powell near Page, Arizona.

But I'm pretty sure most Americans are not aware that we artificially divert the natural course of the river's entire flow so that Mexico doesn't get a drop of it (save during severe floods, as in a couple of El Nino years). Where the Colorado used to empty into the sea, there was a great delta which would remind many of the Mississippi's. Since 1964, though, the Colorado River Delta hasn't received squat. It dried up, turning into a litter-strewn expanse of sand most often used as a dirt road.

US border at Calexico, CA/Mexicali, MX. Image courtesy 

NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS,

 and the U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

As you might imagine, absolutely all the natural flora and fauna that used to inhabit the delta have died or been forced to migrate elsewhere. The people of Mexico are themselves immeasurably poorer due to the denial of this most basic of resources; the disparity it causes is so vast it's visible from space. The NASA image at the right (snapped by the ASTER instrument over a different, but similarly situated border area) uses infrared light to pick out vegetation; it's completely obvious where the border runs just from the drop in the farmed parcels.

For the first time since Morelos Dam was completed, on Sunday the US purposely released a large "pulse" of water through the dam to Mexico for the purpose of reviving the delta. The 34.3 billion gallon event was designed to simulate natural spring floods, and jump-start the delta's revitalization. It's the result of an agreement, called Minute 319, between the eight US states that share the Colorado's water rights, and the US and Mexican government.

The Nature Conservancy has some very cool footage up on YouTube showing the beginning of the event:


New Scientist has excellent full articles on the whole deal, from the Minute 319 agreement itself, to the specifics of the "pulse." NS always has great reads -- so head on over!