The Colorado River

1
The Colorado River

• Terrascope Group 1

2
History

• Ecology of the river in the past and in the
  present
• Colorado River Compact 1922
• Past and present use major projects along the
  river
• Physical history climate and its effect over
  the last century (Link Group 2)

3
Flow Measurement Distribution

• Control and measurement of flow
• Water rationing equitable distribution (Who
  gets the water?)
• Irrigation (Link Group 4)
• Diversions and canals
• Output to Mexico (What can be done about it?)

4
Implementation

• Legislative policies, treaties, laws (Link Group
  3)
• Economic implications financing management
  (Link Group 8)
• Negative externalities pollution/misuse upriver
  negatively affecting downriver locations

5
Management

• Dams (Link Group 7)
• Diversions
• Levees and embankments
• Uses of water purification, irrigation, etc.
• Present efforts to reduce pollution ecology of
  river

6
Improvement Goals for the Future

• Ensure equitable distribution of water treaties
  and legislation
• Proper management and use of water
• Reducing pollution
• Increasing sustainability

7
Group 2- Progress

• Population and Climate Change

8
Tentative Timeline

• Data collection Define and assign subtopics for
  research. Gather information, build database,
  create relevant graphs/charts. (2 weeks, ends on
  Monday Sep 29nd)
• Data analysis implications of data, synthesis of
  information under different topics, information
  sharing with other groups (1 week, ends on
  Monday, Oct 6th)
• Specific and detailed definition of the
  causes/problems to be tackled. Any additional
  research needed is assigned. (2 weeks, ends on
  Monday, Oct 20th)
• Solution(s) Development of solution(s) for the
  problems defined in the previous step.
  Presentation polishing, etc. (The rest of the
  term)

9
Information-gathering Stage

• Population Trends (Past/Future) Amanda Ivana
• Causes
• Specifically CA, TX, AZ, NV, CO, Mexico, Canada
• North America as a whole
• Location of population centers in west
• Water used by area/region Cat
• Locations where water is not a problem
  (Canada/per capita water use)
• Incentives to move (where has this worked?)
• Water pollution as dependent on population
• Other options
• Effects of climate change on agriculture/irrigatio
  n Fan
• How much more water is needed?
• Climate change effect on efficiency of water use
  
• Changes of precipitation, changing state of
  reservoirs/lakes/rivers John
• Geographical distribution of water
• Pollution/State of water as it reaches Mexico
  Chidi
• Acid rain

10
Research Highlights

• Climate Change and Agriculture
• Change in temperature/preciptation rates affects
  plant distribution
• CO2 and humidity changes? biological functions
• Changes in plants natural enemies
• Population Changes
• Population in western US has been growing
  steadily since the 1880s
• Disputes over water began in the early 1800s
• Selected groundwater basins currently available
  to Southern California Raymond Basin, West
  Basin, Central Basin, Main San Gabriel Basin, San
  Fernando Valley, Mojave River Basin, Orange
  County, Chino Basin

11
Research Highlights

• State of water to Mexico
• Desertification
• Caused by over-irrigation, over-grazing, or other
  land abuse
• Measures to prevent desertification developed in
  1960s only partially successful
• 22 of the 50 largest cities in the U.S. are
  located in the desert

Desertification of North America
12
Group 3Trans-Boundary Issues

• Update as of 9/18/08

13
Our Mission/Objectives

• Analyze current water legislation in the US,
  Canada, and Mexico
• Investigate water regulations that will provide
  resources for the next 100 years
• Develop the most equitable/fair future water
  legislation by taking into account
• Population
• Economy
• Future development

14
Exploratory Research Group NAFTA?

• NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement
• Removed trade and investment barriers between
  Mexico, the United States, and Canada
• Includes sections on both environmental and trade
  issues

15
NAFTA and Water

• Due to geographic imbalances of water, private
  companies want to sell water internationally
• National legislation may prevent this- currently
  disputed as to whether this is allowed under
  NAFTA or not
• ISSUE Is water allowed to be sold as a privately
  owned good?

16
Exploratory Research Group United States

• Focusing on the disputes across borders within
  the United States.
• Current legislation regulating water between
  state and county borders.
• The information will be used as a comparison to
  the boundary disputes between nations.
• How does United States policy alter between its
  states and neighboring sovereign countries?
• How could current legislation infer future
  equitable water distribution problems?
• How can we improve current legislation?

17
Potential Sources

• Journal Articles
• Impact of Politics on the Colorado River Basin
  Water Agreement In-Depth Administrative Analysis
  by Polly Walker
• Overarching legislation governing transboundary
  sources of water
• El Paso County of Colorado
• City of Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Local legislation on city and county water rights
• Reflects the opinions of individuals in a
  particular area, rather than the opinion of their
  representatives

18
Exploratory Research GroupMexico

• Analyze current water distribution with Mexico
• Does it provide enough clean water?
• How do relations with Mexico compare with
  relations with more developed countries?
• To what extent should future legislation account
  for potential growth/development?
• What responsibility does the US have to encourage
  that growth/development?
• How do border disputes affect water regulation?

19
Exploratory Research GroupCanada

• Analyze current water regulation with Canada
• Are there any border disputes that complicate
  water distribution?
• How should pollution (beginning in Canada, then
  US) be managed in future legislation?

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IRRIGATION!!!

• Group 4
• .

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1337 5p33(

• 1. Sources of water used/how much is used
  (Jen-group 1, 5, 6)
• 2. The types of crops grown (Jen, John)
• 3. What's done with the water after it is used
  (Megan - group 6)
• 4. Environmental effects (Sondra, Michelle)
• 5. Irrigation methods (Ashley, John)
• 6. How much will all of this cost??? (Tyler,
  Krupa - group 8)

22
Group 5 Groundwater Reserves (including Ogallala
Aquifer)?
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Natural Recharge

• Recharge is promoted by
• Natural vegetation cover
• Flat topography
• Permeable soil
• A deep water table
• Ogallala Aquifer
• Almost all water comes from rainfall and snowmelt
• Less than 25 millimeters (1 inch) annually
• No longer water recharge from Rockies

Question With very little recharge, how will the
Ogallala Aquifer continue to provide water to the
West at its current usage?
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Group Six

• Desalinization (however you feel like spelling
  it) and Sewage Treatment

30
ToO
31
Key Questions
Desalination Sewage Treatment
Economic Viability At what point and what level is the solution profitable? Who should fund it? ?
Engineering/Tech Developments Which existing technologies are most effective for a particular purpose? How can we plan for new technologies and their potential impacts? ?
Environmental Impact/Energy Do the advantages of not using groundwater outweigh damage due to energy use and plant production? How does the increasing amount of waste effect ecosystems and humans?
Scalability How do the economics and production levels change when scaled up or down? ?
Sustainability How long will this solution be effective and what are the assumptions behind this prediction? ?
32
Improvement Goals for the Future

• Ensure equitable distribution of water treaties
  and legislation
• Proper management and use of water
• Reducing pollution
• Increasing sustainability

33
Water and Energy

• Group 007

34
Our Strategy...

• Division of research into 5 subgroups
• Types of fuel
• Energy Trends
• Technology and Research
• Water Treatment
• Infrastructure Policy

35
EconomicsPoints of Interest

• Pricing
• West Coast Colorado River
• Irrigation
• Desalinization
• Environment
• Climate Change
• Groundwater Reserves
• tburnett_at_mit.edu

• Conservation/Regulation
• Colorado River
• Population Growth
• Policies to Regulate
• H20 Supply Demand
• Energy
• Groundwater Reserves
• Desalination sewage treatment
• clarion_at_mit.edu

36
Pricing

• Externalities
• Ecosystem functions
• Rationing
• Price (taxes and user fees)?
• Quantity (permits)?
• Current research

37
Environment/Conservation

• Contamination
• Awareness and education
• Irrigation
• Biodiversity
• Population and livestock use of and impact upon
  water availability

38
Regulation Conservation

• Controlling water use
• Some water plan (e.g. increased rates for excess
  consumption)?
• Work with Pricing group
• Protecting current resources
• Evaluate current federal and state laws
• Laws on usage (amount, which sources)?
• Limiting damage from industry, recreation, etc

39
Infrastructure

• H2O Supply
• Public vs. Private
• Water sharing (Canada, Mexico)?
• Current research