Western water woes…
Author: David Owen
Government water policy. Each individual word is boring and stringing them together doesn’t help much. But when one considers the modern history of the Colorado River, things become much more intriguing. Rustle up an experienced and capable writer like David Owen you’ve got a really good book on your hands. Without a doubt, Where the Water Goes is a lot more interesting than it has any right to be.
The Colorado gets its start on the western side of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Draining much of seven southwestern states, the Colorado is one of the most heavily utilized rivers in the world. Starting high in the Colorado Rockies and ending at the Gulf of California in the Mexican state of Sonora, the river is famous for its creation of such wonders as Grand Canyon, Lake Powell and the Utah Canyonlands. But it’s much more than a source of natural beauty, as the Colorado watershed is a vital water source for 40 million people. Moreover, anyone who eats fruits and vegetables grown in California (that’s pretty much everyone in the US) is directly benefitting from the flow of the Colorado.
Given that it’s so important for so many people, it’s not surprising that we’ve been squabbling over its finite flow for the past couple centuries. It’s also not surprising that we’ve almost killed the river in our zeal to utilize its every last drop to its fullest potential.
Boulder Dam in 1940, renamed Hoover Dam in 1947.
Intrigued by this crisis in the making, The New Yorker’s David Owen decided to travel each of the river’s 1450 miles by plane, car or foot to try and get a full picture of this essential resource. As he travels, he compellingly reveals the many complex layers to water policy in the American Southwest. His presentation is remarkably balanced and level-headed, eschewing any agenda or easy answers. He explores the various possible uses, whether it’s agriculture, power generation, recreation, industry or wilderness, and discusses how the seven states struggle to obtain and rationally utilize their allotted share.
Combining astute observation with sharp writing, Where the Water Goes manages to make a topic that seems as mundane as tap water into an intriguing look at life in America. It’s not really a nature book, but more a look at water and humanity’s relationship with it. Recommended for anyone interested in conservation or anyone who thinks that golf courses in Arizona and fountains at Las Vegas casinos are most of the problem.
RMNP photo by PumpkinSky (CC BY-SA 3.0)/dam photo by Ansel Adams
— D. Driftless
Check out some other reviews about water and rivers: The Ripple Effect / River Notes
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