Kravarik, J, & Elam, S. (2022, August 7). Nebraska and Colorado are sparring over water rights. It could be the new norm as rivers dry up. cnn.com. https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/06/us/drought-water-canal-colorado-nebraska-climate/index.html
The South Platte River is the livelihood of people living on the Colorado-Nebraska border. Bringing into effect a century old compact, Nebraska is planning on building a canal in Colorado to divert water to a reservoir. Colorado is not in favor of this plan. The action was spurred by severe drought and proposed developments in Colorado along the river that would significantly reduce the amount of water flowing into Nebraska. Residents worry that the canal would harm the economy and ecosystem supported by the river. Farmers also have concerns about how the drought and canal will continue to affect their businesses. As long as climate change continues in the same way, more and more states will be fighting similar battles on water usage.
The most troubling thing in this article, besides the drought and decreasing water supply, is how little concern there seems to be surrounding the effects of these planned developments on the ecosystem of the river. However vital water is to human life, disturbing the natural flow of the river will have even more extensive consequences on ecosystem services, habitats along the river, and eventually us. Hopefully the final decision will be beneficial to the economy, environment, and residents.
This situation feels very back-and-forth, like an “every man for himself” type of scenerio in which you can see Nebraska and Colardo alike trying to build infrastructure that may negatively affect the other state. This situation, which feels very divided, brings into question the catastrophic problems and the increasing tensions that can emerge as more river beds dry up. After all, how does one determine who has a right to water and who doesn’t?
The answer to the question is really hard because everyone has a right to water but currently there’s not enough to go around. Thanks for reading.
While I agree that nature and the environment is very important, I feel like you may not full do the importance of water as a resource for humans justice. How would we farm, drink water, shower, and more>
I agree with you that this is very troubling and completely destroying nature and the environment is not a good solution. As climate change gets worse, how do you think we can strike a balance between developments and protecting nature?
Since both the environment and our livelihood are incredibly important I think the most important thing is to stop climate change so the balance is restored and doesn’t have to be fought over.