political issues

• pollution -

  • increased pollution as it flows through many states
  • salinity is major problem and increases further downstream
  • this creates difficult issues that are hard to manage due to engineering and cost
• cost -

  • takes billions of dollars to build due to all aspects
  • cost shared between states and has to be tightly regulated
• water use-

  • most water used returns to the basin someway, issues occur over water allocation
• water allocation-

  • in 1992 water was divided to states depending on population, amended in 1994 to include mexico
  • colorado river compact set up to try resolve who gets what
  • still a debate weather to be based on population or % of basin in each state
• Mexico's major international issue -

  • Mexico is at the end of the system so has least political power
  • Mexico now receives less water than before , the water received is ore polluted and saline, doesn't get benefit from fertile silt deposits , fishing grounds in the gulf are ruined, costal towns have lost economic status as Colorado no longer reaches the sea
  • debates still occur as the Yuma desalination plant is expensive but isn't effective or fully operational