Ateo
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U.S. - Mexico Experiment Aims To Resurrect The Colorado River Delta
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-ff-colorado-river-delta-...
LOS ALGODONES, Mexico — The mighty Colorado River, which over millenniums has carved the Grand Canyon, does an unusual thing when it gets south of the
Arizona-Mexico border. It dies.
The Morelos Dam — sitting on the international boundary — serves as its headstone, diverting nearly all of the river water into an aqueduct that
serves agriculture as well as homes in Tijuana.
South of the dam, the river channel travels about 75 miles to the Gulf of California. Except when filled by rains, the channel is bone dry. But
starting Sunday, the river will flow again, part of an unprecedented experiment by U.S. and Mexican officials.
A few days ago, the International Boundary Water Commission, made up of Mexican and U.S. officials, released water from Lake Mead in Nevada to send it
toward the Colorado River delta, a region cut off from most of the river's flow by the dams and diversions constructed in the 20th century.
Although there have been experimental high-flow water releases in the Colorado River, such as one last year from Lake Powell designed to spread
sediment in the Grand Canyon, this is the first "pulse" for the delta.
The pulse, in the planning stage for some time, is part of a five-year pilot project designed to reinvigorate the delta environment. It's a
coincidence that it comes when a record drought has increased concerns about the future of water security in the West.
That's why Mexican and U.S. water authorities, hoping to stem any pushback or last-minute hesitation, met with California and Arizona officials before
announcing the pulse to assure them that they would receive their full allotment of Colorado River water this year.
The pulse will start slowly Sunday, when officials lift the gates at the Morelos Dam, west of Yuma, Ariz., releasing about 700 cubic feet of water per
second. It will peak Thursday when about 4,200 cubic feet per second will rush through the dam. Over eight weeks, an estimated 105,000 acre-feet will
be released. (An acre-foot is the amount water required to cover an acre a foot deep, or about 326,000 gallons — enough to supply two average homes
for one year.)
Experts from both countries will study the effects of the release. It's unlikely the water will reach the Gulf of California and unclear whether it
will all soak into the soil or be left standing in parts of the channel.
The pulse is allowed under an amendment approved two years ago to a 1944 treaty governing water use by the two countries. The amendment established
new rules for sharing water in times of drought and committed both nations, often at odds over water, to conducting the pulse experiment.
The release is intended to revitalize the delta, help Mexican farmers grow their crops, recharge the aquifer and bring back hundreds of bird species
native to the region.
Juan Butron Mendez, a 63-year-old farmer who also gives guided tours for Pronatura Noroeste, a Mexican conservation group, said he vividly remembers
the rapid current of the river when he was 4 years old in the Mexicali Valley, about 30 miles south of the border.
"The water surged so strong there were large whirlpools swirling with oranges, grapefruits and trees," Butron recalled.
He and his family left the area for a few years before returning in the late 1960s. The river wasn't the same, he said.
"It only had a tiny bit of water, maybe 2 inches deep," he said. "Then it just became a desert."
Osvel Hinojosa, water and wetlands program director at Pronatura Noroeste, described the region as resilient.
"Just a little bit of water makes a big difference here," Hinojosa said of the experiment to determine whether a healthy delta system can be
maintained without a lot of water. He also acknowledged the limits of the restoration project.
"We cannot restore the delta to what it was 100 years ago," Hinojosa said. "What was then wetlands is now farmland, and we need to respect that."
The pulse is supposed to mimic a flood produced by a spring snowmelt. However, this week's flood will provide only a smidgen of what would have flowed
before the dams were built, officials said.
It is the only release planned so far. At the end of the 5-year pilot project, U.S. and Mexican officials will review findings and discuss whether
other discharges should be made.
On a recent day, backhoes roared as they cleared out salt cedar, an invasive species, from the dry riverbed about 20 miles south of the border. A
group of Pronatura workers and volunteers have already prepared areas near the banks for restoration, planting willows and cottonwood, which are
native and ideal habitat for various bird species.
The water should provide the "right jolt of caffeine" for the area, Hinojosa said.
But not everyone will benefit from the pulse.
Farther south on Highway 2, past lettuce and alfalfa fields, the Cucapa people probably won't be reached by the infusion of water, officials said.
About 200 Cucapa, an indigenous people, live in El Mayor, about 45 miles south of the border.
Their name means "people of the river," and Inocencia Gonzalez Saiz, a 77-year-old Cucapa elder, remembers when the Colorado River ran free.
"It was very deep. Not like it is now," said Gonzalez, who is referred to affectionately as Doña Inocencia. "Now, not even the fish are good anymore."
Gonzalez looked down at a part of the riverbed covered in salt cedar. The channel is normally parched, but rains a few days earlier had filled it a
little less than halfway across.
She remembers it wider and deeper — enough for boats.
"The steamboat would come up from La Paz to that dock right there," Gonzalez said.
The children would get excited because the boat often hauled candy.
"When I'm alone in my house," she said, "sometimes I just daydream about those days."
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MrBillM
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Too Little to Make a Difference
Sounds like a "feel good-look good" effort without much cost to little effect.
BTW, that gal who remembers the Candy supply runs from La Paz would have been born around '36-'37. Were those boats still running
after the Hoover Dam completion ?
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Ateo
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MrBillM
Sounds like a "feel good-look good" effort without much cost to little effect.
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Yep. Agreed.
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JZ
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What's the point exactly if it's not going to be sustained?
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Sweetwater
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Mood: chilly today hot tomale
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With years of drought in the western US, WTF are they trying to accomplish?
There is no fresh water to spare for useless games like this......
Everbody\'s preachin\' at me that we all wanna git to heaven, trouble is, nobody wants to die to git there.-BB King
Reality is what does not go away when you stop believing in it. -Philip K Dick
Nothing is worse than active ignorance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe(1749-1832, German writer, artist and politician)
When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I\'ve never tried before. - Mae West
Experience is what keeps a man who makes the same mistake twice from admitting it the third time around.
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DavidE
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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They got 100,000,000 in unexpected tax revenue apportionment and had to spend it somehow
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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BajaWarrior
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Mood: Anxious to get south
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I wonder if this will add water to Laguna Salada again like in the 80's and 90's...
Haven't had a bad trip yet....
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RnR
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Sweetwater
With years of drought in the western US, WTF are they trying to accomplish?
There is no fresh water to spare for useless games like this...... |
It's Mexico's water.
The US uses 90% of the Colorado river's water. About 10% is passed on to Mexico.
It may not be the best use of water with a drought going on, but, it is their water and their decision.
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Bajahowodd
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Sweetwater
With years of drought in the western US, WTF are they trying to accomplish?
There is no fresh water to spare for useless games like this...... |
Exactimente. Folks in the Southwest are in for draconian measures when it comes to water. Although there have been some years with heavy snowpack
above the Colorado basin, long term experience is that less and less water is available.
I remember the building of the Glen Canyon dam, and the filling of Lake Powell. Made many trips to that area decades ago.
For anyone who has camped in the area, or has enjoyed the houseboats, the watermarks on the cliffs tell a sobering story.
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JZ
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajahowodd
For anyone who has camped in the area, or has enjoyed the houseboats, the watermarks on the cliffs tell a sobering story. |
Yawn. Boat on Mead all the time, was out there this last weekend actually. There is a chit ton of water, even though there are high water marks.
The lake is actually better when the water goes down a little. Two years ago it went up 50 feet and screwed up several great anchorages.
People just like to spout off, people who don't even use the lakes.
[Edited on 3-25-2014 by JZ]
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Bajahowodd
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| Quote: | Originally posted by JZ
| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajahowodd
For anyone who has camped in the area, or has enjoyed the houseboats, the watermarks on the cliffs tell a sobering story. |
Yawn. Boat on Mead all the time, was out there this last weekend actually. There is a chit ton of water, even though there are high water marks.
The lake is actually better when the water goes down a little. Two years ago it went up 50 feet and screwed up several great anchorages.
People just like to spout off, people who don't even use the lakes.
[Edited on 3-25-2014 by JZ] |
I will refrain from calling you a marooon. However, Lake Mead is one of the last reservoirs down the Colorado watershed. If you really think that
there is not a major problem with water in the Southwest, well, I just don't know what to say.
There is a long standing problem with precipitation throughout the Colorado watershed. I can only assume that if Mead is full, it is only because the
users downriver are being screwed.
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