Salton Sea cleanup in jeopardy as states battle over Colorado River water rights
John Moore / Getty Images
Colorado River water is flowing in to northern Arizona to help a desert wildlife refuge in Southern California.
Colorado River water is flowing in to northern Arizona to help a desert wildlife refuge in Southern California. (John Moore / Getty Images)
John Moore / Getty Images
Environmentalists want Colorado River water to help them fight for more water for farmers and cities. But they are now in a court battle with the federal government over its use.
This is a developing story with important updates. Watch this story on “20/20”
The Colorado River flows from the mountains of the United States into the Southwestern United States. The water eventually flows into Mexico and into the Pacific Ocean.
The river is shared with Mexico and all of the three-dozen states that it flows through: Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, California and Nevada.
The river’s flow is a delicate balance. It allows for diversions of water from the mountain ranges, so much so that it takes some of the best years for water to flow into Arizona from the Colorado River.
But when it gets too low — when the river doesn’t flow, which it doesn’t — it doesn’t help farmers. It prevents them from irrigating their fields and they are forced to use more water that they could be using for irrigation.
“We just don’t have enough water,” said Jeff Steedman, an irrigationist with the Southern Nevada Irrigation District.
He said that when the water runs low in the spring and the river doesn’t flow, this could be a big problem for Nevada and the agricultural industry downstate.
“You have farmers selling crops and you don’t have markets. Now you have to use water to water those crops,” he said. “But in the spring when the river is flowing, it’s
