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LARGE-SCALE RIVER BASIN

DEVELOPMENT: THE COLORADO
W
N

Glen Canyon Navajo dam

dam
and reservoir
Hoover dam
Lit
tle
CALIFORNIA
Co
lor
Davis dam ARIZONA
L. Mojave
ad
oR
L. Havasu
.
Granite
Parker dam
.
Reef dam
R
t
l
NEW MEXICO
Los
Imperial dam
Sa
Phoenix
Angeles
and reservoir
Gila R.
San Diego
Yuma Painted
Tucson
Rock
Mexicale
dam

UPPER BASIN

San Jua
nR
.

LOWER BASIN

.
en R

Gre

COLORADO

L. Powell

L. Mead
Las Vegas

an

Oce

high precipitation

Denver
Blue Mesa
dam

ific

Rivers have always been used on a

small scale for navigation, water
supply and irrigation, but it was
only in the 20th century that
multi-purpose, large-scale schemes
were developed, often in less
economically developed countries
(LEDCs) financed by more
economically developed countries
(MEDCs). The impact of these
huge schemes has often been
considerable on the local area.
Multi-purpose projects use the
water for domestic and industrial
use, irrigation, hydro-electricity
generation (HEP) and leisure.
Most of these schemes involve
building a dam and creating a
reservoir behind it. An ideal
location for a dam usually
includes the following criteria:

Co

UTAH

oR

ad
lor

ain

Flaming Gorge
dam

unt

State boundary
Reservoir
Dam
Non-permanent river

Mo

Key

Pac

Multi-purpose rivers

ky

Flaming Gorge
reservoir

NEVADA

The River Colorado in south-west

USA (Figure 1) is only the 25th
largest river in the USA but it has
been called The Lifeline of the
South West, as it transports water
from the Rocky Mountains to the
Gulf of California through a desert
that is four times the size of
Britain, and it enables cities such as
Las Vegas and Phoenix to continue
growing at a very rapid rate.

WYOMING

IDAHO

Roc

ATER is one of the worlds

most valuable resources. In
the USA, bottled water is now
more expensive than petrol, and
in many parts of the world water
could be the reason for future
conflict between countries, for
example in the Middle East. Large
rivers are an important source of
water, especially in arid areas, eg
the Aswan dam in Egypt and the
Akosombo dam in Ghana.

by Hilary Edge

Gulf of
California

MEXICO

km

250

Figure 1: The Colorado basin

low evaporation rates
deep, steep-sided valleys
impermeable, hard rock
sparsely populated
poor-quality agricultural land.

The Colorado Basin: basic

geography
The River Colorado rises in The
Rocky Mountains and flows 2,300
km south into the Gulf of
California. Annual precipitation in
the Rockies may be as much as
2,500 mm of snow, but further
downstream the river flows
through an arid region where less
than 250 mm of rain falls as it is

Series 12 Summer issue Unit 246 Large-scale River Basin Development: the Colorado 2001 Nelson Thornes Ltd
This page may be photocopied for use within the purchasing institution only.

in the rainshadow of the Sierra

Nevada mountain range. This
rainfall is seasonal and highly
unpredictable, leading to great
variations in the flow of the river
(Figure 2).
This type of discharge in a river
leads to considerable erosion and
the Colorado has always carried
large amounts of sediment (Figure
3) which is why the Spanish
named it Colorado, meaning red
colour. However, the river also
experiences great losses of water
due to evaporation. Temperatures
can reach 40C, and 95% of the
rain that falls can be lost.

GeoActive Online
Page 1 of 4

(a) Annual discharge

F M A M J

A S O N D

(b) Discharge below the Hoover dam

since 1920
1920 35 River in natural state
1935 42 Lake Mead filling
behind Hoover dam
1962 80 Lake Powell filling
behind Glen
Canyon dam

920

1940

1960

1980

Figure 2: Hydrographs for the River

Colorado

In its natural state the Colorado

was a very wild, powerful river
and the US government thought it
would be a good idea to put it to
work for the people. The US
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
was set up to carry out this
formidable task. Today less than
1% of the natural river reaches the
delta!

How the Colorado was tamed

After the Great Depression of the
1930s there were many
unemployed people, and some
were put to work on construction
projects on the Colorado. Five
thousand people worked on the
first dam, the Hoover, which was
completed in 1935 and which
dammed up Lake Mead in
Boulder Canyon. This gorge was
300 m deep, so huge quantities of
water could be stored. Between
1935 and 1966, ten major dams
were constructed. The last to be
built was Glen Canyon Dam
which dammed up the 300 km
long Lake Powell.
More recently the Central Arizona
Project (CAP) was completed in
1991 at a cost of 1.75 billion
(Figure 4). Water is transported by
aqueduct 500 km across the desert
from Lake Havasu to Phoenix and
Tucson in Arizona. It has to be

GeoActive Online
Page 2 of 4

raised 400 m by several pumping

stations along its route, using HEP
generated by Colorado water. By
the time the water reaches Tucson
there has been so much
evaporation that the water is very
salty, so it has to be treated before
it can be used.

COLORADO RIVER

The allocation of water: who

gets what?

Length:

2,300 km

Lowest discharge pa:

5 km3 (1917)

Highest discharge pa:

21 km3 (1977)

Average discharge:

503 m3/sec

Sediment load:

380,000 tonnes/day

Figure 3: The Colorado River fact

box

As this water is so valuable there

are bound to be disputes about it,
especially as the Colorado flows
through seven US states and
finally through Mexico. Water has
been used for irrigation by
California since the late 19th
century, but by the early 20th
century there was obviously a
need for some agreement between
the states. In 1922 the Colorado
Compact was signed. The rule of
first come, first served (prior
appropriation) was agreed that
is, if a state downstream, for
example California, already had a
dam providing irrigation water,
this water could not be removed
by a state upstream, for example
by Utah, building a dam at a later
date. The Compact allocated 7.5
million acre feet (maf) a year each
to the upper and lower basins and
1.5 maf to Mexico. (An acre-foot

of water is enough to flood 1 acre

of land to a depth of 1 foot.) In a
drought year the upper basin has
to ensure there is enough water
for the lower basin before it meets
its own needs. So far the upper
basin has not needed its full
allocation. Water demand is
greater in the lower basin and
each state has a specific allocation:
Nevada
Arizona
California
Mexico

0.3 maf
2.8 maf
4.4 maf
1.5 maf

Despite this early agreement there

is still no single authority with
overall control of the whole
Colorado basin. This lack of
coordination leads to problems.

Key
1 Coachella Canal
2 All-American Canal
Aqueduct
Irrigated areas

Los Angeles
Co
lo

rad

Pacific
Ocean

oR

Las
Vegas
Aq
ue
du
ct

San
Diego

Imperial
Valley
(largest irrigated
area in USA)

oR

rad

lo
Co

100 km

Denver
Big Thompson scheme

L. Powell
L. Mead

L. Havasu
1
2

Phoenix
Imperial
dam

Central Arizona Project

Mexicale
Valley

Tucson

MEXICO

Figure 4: Water supply from the Colorado

Series 12 Summer issue Unit 246 Large-scale River Basin Development: the Colorado 2001 Nelson Thornes Ltd
This page may be photocopied for use within the purchasing institution only.

Thousands of animals
drowned, and habitats lost,
in filling of Lake Mead.
Beaches washed away in
the Grand Canyon due to
varying flow of water.

Huge amounts of
water and HEP
used to support
Las Vegas.

ad

lor

Co

Denver

San Ju

an

Parker

Gulf
of
California

Salinisation of soils and

increasing salinity of river water
caused by irrigation water
leaching into channels.
$300 million desalination plant
built at Yuma to return usable
water for irrigation in Mexico.

MEXICO
Fertile Mexicali valley receives
salty water for irrigation.

Delta no longer receives annual

input of sediment. Wildlife have
lost their habitats.

Lake Powell loses 0.7 km3 of

water each year through
evaporation. Another 1.25 km3
seeps into surrounding
sandstone.

Glen Canyon

Imperial
Phoenix
San Diego Gila
Yuma
Tucson

ean
ic Oc
Pacif

In 1987, law passed

making farmers pay a
realistic price for their
water.

Flaming
Gorge

Gr
ee

30% of Southern California's

water comes from the
Colorado. Politicians can
Las
win votes by supporting
Vegas
schemes to extract more Hoover
water from the river.

As the Colorado flows through

the Rockies it transports
380,000 tonnes of sediment a
day. Most of this is now trapped
in reservoirs, reducing their
water-carrying capacity.

Tucson used to supplement its

water from groundwater
supplies, but these are drying
up.

200 km

Figure 5: Problems facing the Colorado

What are the benefits of

developing the Colorado?
Domestic water supply
A total of 25 million people
depend on the Colorado for their
water (Figure 4). The standard of
living is so high in the area that
people expect green lawns,
swimming pools and air
conditioning. The South West, or
Sunbelt as it is known, is
attracting large numbers of
migrants from the rest of the USA,
especially from the areas of
industrial decline in the northeast, such as Michigan. Phoenix,
in Arizona, is growing by 3,000
people a month and is spreading
over a huge area of desert (80 km
across), as everyone wants to live
in a detached house with its own
garden. People are attracted by the
climate and lifestyle and by the
jobs available in the high-tech
industries. Tucson could not
survive without the Central
Arizona Project, as it has used up
all its groundwater supplies.

Control of flooding
A very effective method of
controlling flooding in the lower
basin is to dam excess in the upper
basin and release it gradually into
the river so that bankfull capacity
is not exceeded. Figure 2 shows

that the damming of the Colorado

has been fairly effective in
controlling flood surges, although
in 1983 large areas of land below
the Parker dam were flooded
causing millions of dollars worth
of damage to farmland and
property. Weather conditions had
been extreme and forecasting
inaccurate but people blamed the
USBR for not releasing water soon
enough from the upper reservoirs
to make space for the heavy
rainfall. The USBR has a difficult
time deciding when and how
much to let out, as it needs to
keep water levels high for HEP
generation. The local planning
department in the Parker valley
was also criticised for allowing
tourist development on the
floodplain. The flooding shows us
how people can never totally
control the Colorado.
However, taming the Colorado
does help provide local people
with electricity (HEP), vegetables
and fruit (irrigation), drinking
water, leisure opportunities and
spectacular tourist venues such as
the Grand Canyon.

Issues facing the Colorado

It is impossible for people to
interfere with a fragile ecosystem
such as the desert without causing

Series 12 Summer issue Unit 246 Large-scale River Basin Development: the Colorado 2001 Nelson Thornes Ltd
This page may be photocopied for use within the purchasing institution only.

problems. Figure 5 shows some of

the problems being experienced in
the Colorado basin.
The story of the Colorado
illustrates how the most powerful
country in the world cannot
always control nature. The 1983
floods could recur. The US
government must reassess the rate
of development in the South West
it is unlikely that any more
schemes involving the Colorado
will be allowed to go ahead.

Environmental protest
Environmental pressure groups
have always been powerful in the
USA. One group, the Sierra Club,
would even like to see all the dams
demolished to return the
Colorado to its natural state.
Although it reduces the
production of HEP, the flow of
water from Glen Canyon dam is
not now being allowed to
fluctuate so much because in the
past there has been much damage
to the river banks. Before any new
development is allowed, an
Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) is required by the National
Environment Policy Act. These
changes at Glen Canyon received
a full EIS in 1993.
Environmentalists believe that the
wilderness element of the
American landscape is worth
preserving.

Native American rights

In 1964 the US Supreme Court
granted five Colorado Indian
tribes water rights in their
reservations in California. Since
then they have fought to have this
allocation increased. In Arizona,
tribes have been given 10% of the
allocation to be used for
irrigation. Native Americans are
becoming increasingly powerful in
the political process.

The future
The states bordering the Colorado
must work together if they are to
be effective. Water consumption
must either be reduced or people
must be forced to conserve water,
eg through tax incentives.

GeoActive Online
Page 3 of 4

Activities
1 On Figure 6 name the
following:
Rivers: Colorado, Green, San
Juan, Little Colorado, Gila.
Cities: Los Angeles, San Diego,
Phoenix, Tucson, Denver, Las
Vegas, Yuma.
US states: Wyoming, Nevada,
New Mexico, California,
Arizona, Utah, Colorado.
Dams: Glen Canyon, Hoover,
Davis. Draw on and name the
lakes which formed behind
them.
Other features: Pacific Ocean,
Rocky Mountains, Mexico, Gulf
of California.

N
0

km

200

2 Use your atlas to explain why

there is a desert in south-west
USA. Why is water storage
important in this area?
3 Draw an annotated diagram to
illustrate the ideal location for a
dam and reservoir. Do the
reservoirs on the Colorado fulfil
these criteria? Give reasons for
your answer.
4 Look carefully at Figure 2.
(a) Why does the Colorado have
its highest flow levels in April
and May?
(b) How did the annual
discharge vary after the
damming of the river by Hoover
and Glen Canyon dams?
(c) What happened in the 1980s
for the smooth profile of the
hydrograph to show such a
change?
5 Draw a graph to show the
following water consumption in
the Colorado basin:
Billion gallons per day
California

21.0

Colorado

5.0

New Mexico

1.5

Utah

2.3

Arizona

3.7

Wyoming

2.6

GeoActive Online
Page 4 of 4

Figure 6: Outline map of the Colorado basin

6 How and why was the

Colorado Compact different for
the upper and lower basins,
including Mexico? How might
this have to change in the future?
7 What evidence is there that
the Colorado is still a powerful
river beyond peoples control?
8 Imagine you are a farmer in
the Mexicali Valley, Mexico.
Write a letter to the USBR or to
your government explaining
your feelings about the state of
the river as it passes through
your area.
9 Draw up a table to summarise
the benefits and problems facing
the Colorado basin. Use the
acronym PEPSE to help you:
P Physical
E Economic
P Political
S Social
E Environmental.

10 Role-play
Take the part of one of the
following, and argue how you
believe the Colorado should be
managed in the future:
Sierra Club conservationist
USBR official
Farmer in Imperial Valley,
California
Casino owner in Las Vegas
Grand Canyon National Park
Official
Cocopah Indian, Yuma
High-tech industrialist, Phoenix
Migrant from Michigan now living
in Phoenix
Whitewater rafter in the Grand
Canyon
Politician from San Diego,
California.

Series 12 Summer issue Unit 246 Large-scale River Basin Development: the Colorado 2001 Nelson Thornes Ltd
This page may be photocopied for use within the purchasing institution only.