The Colorado Water Conservation Board posted a press release to its website last week.
“Governor Polis Declares State Drought Emergency for Western Colorado”
As a member of the appointed San Juan Water Conservancy District board, I have a definite interest in water issues. This editorial does not necessarily reflect, however, the opinions of the SJWCD board, as a whole.
The CWCB press release:
Governor Jared Polis has formally declared a drought emergency for western Colorado, by Proclamation of the Governor, as counties continue to face evolving impacts and water shortages from a multi-year, severe drought episode affecting industries and citizens.
On June 22, 2020, Phase 2 of the State’s Drought Mitigation and Response Plan was activated for 40 counties, and expanded to all 64 counties by September. As extreme drought and record setting fires expanded across the state, drought response moved into Phase 3 (the highest level of activation) of the State Drought Plan. Spring 2021 precipitation resulted in the stark contrast between significant drought relief for counties east of the continental divide and deepening drought and fire danger for the entire west slope.
Colorado’s Drought Task Force, Agriculture Impact Task Force, and Municipal Water Task Force will remain active and responsive to local needs and emerging concerns throughout the year. The drought emergency is declared for the following counties experiencing severe (D2) to exceptional (D4) drought conditions: Moffat, Routt, Jackson, Rio Blanco, Grand, Garfield, Eagle, Summit, Mesa, Delta, Pitkin, Gunnison, Montrose, Ouray, San Miguel, San Juan, Hinsdale, Dolores, Montezuma, La Plata, and Archuleta….
While Colorado can face a range of shortages across the state every year, the cumulative impacts of drought stress our landscapes, reservoir storage, wildfire risks, and capacity of many water-dependent economies to rebound from previous year impacts and debts. We continue to work with our neighboring states to implement interstate agreements and consider additional potential solutions.
To stay informed on Colorado drought issues, sign up for the State’s Drought Updates or visit the Colorado Water Conservation Board website.
Archuleta County is one of the 21 counties mentioned in the press release, and as has been shared here in the Daily Post previously, the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) is encouraging folks to conserve water this summer, especially by limiting lawn and yard water.
The eastern half of Colorado seems to be doing just fine this summer, in term of water supplies and soil moisture. The western half, not so good.
The Daily Post has been following the ups-and-downs of Colorado water policy over the past decade, and a couple of years ago we posted this image to illustrate an editorial about… shall we call it, a fluid situation?
The fine print, at the top of the “Wanted-style” poster, reads: “The Deepening Crisis of Our Times: Will There Be Enough Water to Drink?”
I don’t recall where I found this image originally — somewhere online — but I think it illustrates two important issues, at the same time.
Yes, the American Southwest is experiencing drought conditions, and our two largest regional reservoirs. Lake Mead and Lake Powell, are currently less than half-full. Ideally, you want your reservoirs to be completely full, at the start of a drought, but that didn’t happen, for so many reasons.
It makes a certain kind of sense for Governor Polis to declare a drought emergency, in the counties that have been hardest hit by drought conditions.
Twenty years ago — in 2002 — Pagosa Springs experienced a much worse drought than what we’re going thorough at the moment. So I wonder if the Governor was over-reacting when he included Archuleta County in an emergency drought announcement? But when we remember that “emergency declarations” are actually a political tool that allows the designated areas to access federal and state grants and loans… we might conclude that the declaration is more about money than about water shortages.
The other important issue illustrated by the poster?
Fear-mongering. A critical tool in the development of Colorado water policies.
When you ask the public, “Will There Be Enough Water to Drink?” you’re aiming your propaganda at basic survival instincts, housed — so the neuroscientists used to tell us — in the Reptilian Brain. The idea of the Reptilian Brain was developed in the 1960s by Paul MacLean. He believed this ‘lower’ area of the brain — essentially the brainstem, cerebellum, and basal ganglia — was the most primitive part of the “Triune Brain”, in terms of evolutionary theory. The Reptilian Brain was, he thought, all about survival — the part that tells us to run away from a sabre-tooth tiger, for example, and also reminds us to seek out food and water.
The other two parts of the brain, in Dr. MacLean’s model, were the Paleomammalian Brain (home to emotions, motivations, and value judgments) and the Neomammalian Brain (responsible for the higher cognitive functions. Logical thought. Reasoning. Language. Abstract thinking.)
This ‘Triune’ model, though clever, had serious flaws and has since been abandoned (as you can research here). But we still recognize that humans have some very basic survival instincts that can, in some situations, cause us to ignore the ethical values and rational thinking that might otherwise come to the fore.
Telling people that they might not have enough water to drink, hits them below the belt. Or below the cerebral cortex, as the case may be.
Suggest to us that we’re likely to die of thirst, and we might stop thinking rationally.
But while we’re still thinking rationally (in spite of the propaganda) we can consider the following ideas:
About 94% of the water diverted from the San Juan River in Archuleta County is used to grow grass. People do not eat grass; cows eat grass, and horses eat grass. And people then eat the cows (but not the horses.) So that’s where most of our local water is used. A small amount goes into oil and gas exploration.
About 3% of the water diverted locally from the San Juan River is used to irrigate a championship golf course, along with as our residential lawns and gardens.
Inside our homes, about 90% of the water is used for flushing our toilets and washing (showers, baths, washing clothes).
Breaking all that down, we find that, of all the water diverted in Archuleta County, cooking and drinking constitutes much less than 1% of our community’s water consumption.
More like 0.1%.
But when the water industry wants your tax money, they will ask you, “Will There Be Enough Water to Drink?”
We might even hear that the Governor has declared an emergency. But then, I guess that’s his job.
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.