Colorado River Update: Take Action in Utah and New Mexico!

Hello Friends of the Colorado River!

We have two action items this week for you to jump on!  First, recall two weeks ago when we discussed all of the dam threats in Utah?  You can review that blog post here. Utah is proposing to spend up to $32 billion on new water projects, including a billion dollar boondoggle called the Lake Powell Pipeline. This proposal would pump water out of Lake Powell for Washington County in Southwest Utah. At the same time, the residents in the town of St. George and in Washington County already have one of the highest water uses in the state! They want even more water to drench lawns and support mega-sprawl in the desert. Our friends at Waterkeeper Alliance and Colorado River Connected have put together this online action for you to sign that sends an email to Utah Governor Gary Herbert telling him to stop this bad pipeline and focus on water conservation and efficiency instead. The Colorado River is already overtaxed -- we can't take anymore water out of it for suburban yards and sprawl. Please click through here to send an email to Governor Herbert!

Second, the situation around the Gila River in New Mexico has gotten worse. Two weeks ago the Governor's Interstate Stream Commission APPROVED the Gila River Diversion, which is a large boondoggle to further drain the Gila and pipe out the water for wasteful projects in New Mexico. Now, this decision is in the hands of New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez. We need to directly reach out to the Governor and ask her to stop this wasteful boondoggle. The Gila River Diversion could cost a billion dollars and impact the last wild river in New Mexico. At the same time, alternatives to the project that focus on water conservation and efficiency have been put forward that are faster and cheaper to implement.  You can learn more about the dreaded Gila River Diversion by visiting the Gila Conservation Coalition's website here. Please call Governor Martinez's office at: 505-476-2200 and ask her to stop this Diversion in its tracks. The Gila flows into the Colorado River -- we need to Save The Gila!

And now for some GOOD news -- it rained in California! Amid the worst drought in 1,200 years, California got a little relief this week as a major storm dropped water across the state. Unfortunately it's not enough rain to make a dent in the long-term drought, but it brought out umbrellas along the coastal areas of Southern California that rely on the Colorado River for water.

Thank you for taking action to protect the Colorado River and its tributaries!

Stay  tuned for more information and action opportunities!

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