When the seven US states depending on the Colorado River agreed to find ways to reduce the amount of water they draw from it, they did this against a complicated backdrop – rapid population growth and dwindling water supplies due to climate change. The situation is further complicated because the 1922 original agreement dividing the river between the states grossly overestimated how much water was actually in the river. Water managers now have until 2026 to come up with a new set of guidelines to manage the River. Those guidelines will include voluntary cutbacks of water use, but mandatory cutbacks could eventually become a reality. A taste of what may come is visible on one of the Colorado River’s tributaries.

[Photo: The Yampa, seen here flowing through Steamboat Springs, is considered the last free-flowing rivers in Colorado. Credit KGNU]