Go with the flows
Reducing consumption key to solving West's water crisis

They say there are only two things guaranteed in life: death and taxes. However, I would like to add a third item to the shortlist of inevitabilities: that if you mention the West’s water crisis to anyone who is not already elbows deep in the matter, they suggest we engineer our way into more water resources to rectify the issue. More often than not, these onlookers are recommending one of two ill-fated ideas: desalinating seawater or constructing a pipeline from the east. 

This obsession with engineering around any environmental constraints that would hinder our ability to develop the American West dates back to the not-so-humble origins of westward expansion and Manifest Destiny. Embedded deep within the very narrative and character of the American West is the idea that man is separate and above the natural world. This creed is rooted in scripture that states, “God blessed them and said to them … fill the Earth and subdue it. Rule over … every living creature” (Genesis 1:28). This obviously plays a role in the conversation surrounding water resource issues in the Colorado River Basin.

Indeed, one could argue this perception of dominance over landscape played an integral role in developing the Colorado River Basin from the very beginning. John Wesley Powell’s seminal report published in 1878 clearly illuminated the fact that only 2% of the land out West was arable. That is unless the vitality of the many mighty rivers in the region could be subjugated and redirected to irrigate the free 160-acre plots resulting from the Homestead Act of 1868.

This suggestion of transferring water from a bountiful watershed to a less fortunate one to sustain agricultural development led to the creation of an entirely new legal doctrine for water allocation. This “Doctrine of Prior Appropriation” was then permanently enshrined in the Colorado State Constitution. The practice also created the need for the Bureau of Reclamation in the first place to “reclaim” these arid lands for development by creating the infrastructure for transbasin diversions. Then the adoption of the Colorado River Compact cemented this system of allocation with federal recognition, leading to Congress providing funds to develop the reservoir system we recognize today.

So, it comes as no surprise that many Americans responded to the images of Lake Powell and Lake Mead nearing catastrophically low water levels last summer by grasping for ways to augment our water supply. Given how deeply influential the belief system of dominance over the environment is in our region, it makes sense that we would focus on how we can engineer our way out of this crisis rather than adapt to the natural hydrologic provisions of the river. 

The problem with this whole line of thinking is that it’s completely out of touch with reality, and it has been since the beginning. At the turn of the 20th century, we genuinely believed that “rain follows the plow,” wrongly assuming that the increase of greenery resulting from farming the region would permanently increase precipitation. This fallacy was further compounded by a series of coincidentally wet years preceding the signing of the Compact, resulting in more water being allocated than what is consistently available within the river.

That inherent deficit directly led to the current debacle at hand, and we’ve known this was coming for at least a few decades. But now that the proverbial chickens finally came home to roost, we have to immediately address this deficit in order to stabilize the system long term and avoid catastrophe, with extra emphasis on the word “immediately.”

Meanwhile, both of the commonly proposed sources for augmenting supply would require developing massive infrastructure projects, which would incur significant financial burdens for American taxpayers. Worse yet, these projects could never be completed in the expedited timeframe required to respond to this crisis. That’s not to mention the legal and environmental ramifications of such a project, nor the continued maintenance costs for their upkeep. Furthermore, even if we did acquire more water to satisfy our thirst for continued westward expansion, the demand will only continue trending upward as the population does the same. 

This is why it should be clear that the only viable way to ensure our sustained inhabitance on this landscape is to learn to live within the hydrological bounds of the river system. Try as we might, it’s not possible to continue augmenting water resources forever; we’ll have to decouple population growth from water consumption eventually. We must instill an ethic of water conservation in every community and every industry in the Southwest. That all starts with acknowledging and accepting the environmental reality of the region: it’s dry as hell out here, and it’s about time we start living like it.

Teal Lehto is an FLC graduate and Durango resident  best known for her TikTok platform (@WesternWaterGirl) dedicated to raising awareness for water re­source issues in the Southwest.