Death of the Colorado River

Author: James Mattil

The Colorado River is born high in the Rocky Mountains and flows south and westward through Colorado, Utah, into Lake Powell (created by the Glen Canyon Dam – photo) and then through the Grand Canyon, before reaching Lake Mead (created by the Hoover Dam – photo). South of Hoover Dam the Colorado faces three more dams on its way to the sea – but today, the once mighty river dries up and dies before ever reaching the sea. So, is it a river, or is it a really a lake? Answer: It’s a damn travesty, is what it is!

In fact, despite the huge reservoirs at Lake Mead and Lake Powell, water levels are at historic low levels due in part to the prolonged drought and in part to the demands for water imposed by cities and farms. In September 2017, I set out to explore parts of the river. its dams and it’s reservoirs. Having lived just downstream of Davis Dam, I was familiar with the ebb and flow of controlled water releases and with the agricultural demands along the last miles of the river. And having lived in Colorado, I was familiar with the river’s beginnings in the Rockies. It was the middle bit, I wanted to learn more about. Before leaving on my trip I re-read the seminal book on western water – Cadillac Desert, by Marc Reisner. that reveals a fantastic tale of greed, self-interest and corruption that forms the foundation for western water policy, today and into the future.

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the desert of truth
To the river so deep

We all end in the ocean
We all start in the streams
We’re all carried along
By the river of dreams
In the middle of the night

I know I’m searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the blind

-Billy Joel, River of Dreams