Water Demands Draining U.S. Rivers

By J.R. Pegg

WASHINGTON, DC, April 10, 2003 (ENS) - Many of America's rivers are suffering from severe water shortages, with drought and human water consumption placing some of these waterways in acute peril, warns a new report released today by American Rivers.

The conservation organization's report, "America's Most Endangered Rivers of 2003," details 10 rivers that face immediate and severe danger, but paints a larger picture of a nation tumbling towards a possible water crisis.

"America's seemingly insatiable demand for fresh water is nearing nature's limits," American Rivers President Rebecca Wodder told reporters at today's press conference. "And we have designed much of the human landscape to make the problem worse, not better."

At the center of the concern is a simple fact - the United States uses more water per person than any other country with little regard for waste or cost. The U.S. average of 1,300 gallons per day is some 60 times the average for many developing countries, according to the World Water Council, with some 85 percent used to for irrigation.

The Ipswich River in Massachusetts is being starved of water by excessive groundwater pumping and human consumption. (Photo courtesy American Rivers)

Two federal government projects, one to drain 300 square miles of wetlands and another to scour more than 100 miles of river bottom, put Mississippi's Big Sunflower River at the top of this year's list. These U.S. Army Corps of Engineer flood control projects are poised to go forward this year, unless reviews by state officials or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) judge otherwise.

"Unless the EPA stands up to political armtwisting," Wodder said, "the Corps of Engineers will drain and scrape the life out of the Big Sunflower River to help a small number of farms collect bigger subsidy checks from American taxpayers."

Americans love pristine rivers for relaxation and recreation, but the nation's water use choices are putting many rivers in danger. (Photo by Mark Lance courtesy American Rivers)

The Bush administration's decision to increase irrigation flows to farmers in the upper region of the river contributed to the deaths of some 33,000 salmon last September. This was the worst recorded fish kill in U.S. history.

Balancing the water needs of competing interests in the Klamath River Basin is not easy, said Representative Mike Thompson, a California Democrat. But the Bush administration's policy, by pitting upstream farmers against conservationists and fishers, is an attempt "to shoehorn a political solution to a scientific problem," Thompson said at today's press conference.

"The problem with the Klamath River is a uniquely local problem that is unfortunately exacerbated by this administration's policies," he said.

Low water levels contributed to a massive fish kill in the Klamath River last September. (Photo by Northcoast Environmental Center courtesy American Rivers)

"The communities within the Klamath Basin cannot afford to wait any longer," he said.

Severe water shortages earned the Ipswich River the number three slot on the list, but it is not agricultural policy that is causing the crisis in the Massachusetts river. It is excessive groundwater pumping and municipal water consumption that leave portions of the river dry each summer.

The river often looks more like a dirt road, said Kerry Mackin, executive director of the Ipswich River Watershed Association.

"We count more dead fish than living fish," Mackin said.

The combination of excessive municipal water consumption and groundwater pumping are directly related and threaten water supplies across the nation, warned Robert Glennon, a law professor at the University of Arizona and author of the book "Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America's Fresh Waters."

Low water levels at the Platte River could have a negative impact on migrating waterfowl, including the sandhill crane. (Photo courtesy U.S. National Park Service)

"We are allowing limitless access to a finite resource," he said. "There is a disconnect between the law and science."

Pumping groundwater, Glennon explained, reduces the natural flow of water into the nation's rivers and depletes a resource that took thousands of years to accumulate. But as demand for water increases, local and state entities are increasingly looking below ground for additional supply.

This has created a direct threat to the Platte River, which is on the endangered list, and threatens to undermine an agreement to secure adequate flows in the Platte River and to protect its adjacent wetlands.

The Platte River, which runs through Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska, is considered by conservationists to be the most important stopover for migratory birds in the nation's heartland.

Excessive diversion and consumption are also responsible for putting the Rio Grande on this year's list, Wodder explained, and water flow issues also led the organization to put Colorado's Gunnison River on its list.

In part because of population growth, the nation's municipal water consumption is the fastest growing sector of U.S. water use, in particular from low density sprawl development.

This is a serious concern for the Mattaponi River, which makes the endangered list because it is threatened by a planned reservoir that would provide water for the sprawling cities of Virginia's Tidewater region.

Virginia's Mattaponi River is considered one of the most pristine coastal river systems on the eastern seaboard. (Photo by G. Warren Mountacastle, Jr. courtesy American Rivers)

Wodder also warned that the Bush administration's decision to revise the scope of the Clean Water Act's protection for wetlands could add to the long list of threats to the nation's rivers. Conservationists believe the reinterpretation of the law by the administration effectively removed protection for as much as 20 percent of the wetlands in the lower 48 states.

"Draining, filling or paving over wetlands and small streams sets off a chain reaction that eventually reduces the water available in river for people and wildlife," Wodder explained. "As wetlands are lost, flash floods increase but less rainfall soaks into the ground. As groundwater levels fall, springs dry up and stream flows drop."

U.S. Representative James Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat, told reporters at the press conference that he supports a legislative effort to reverse the Supreme Court decision that the Bush administration has used to justify its narrow reinterpretation of what constitutes a protected wetland under the Clean Water Act.

"The Supreme Court decision is undermining a 30 year effort to improve America's waterways," Oberstar said. "We have to get back on track to what the Clean Water Act intended."

The other rivers on the list are Colorado's Gunnison River, which is burdened by unnatural water flows, along with the Snake River and Georgia's Tallapoosa River, which are both threatened by impacts from dams, and the Trinity River in Texas, which could be severely affected by planned flood control and floodplain projects.

The water issues that are affecting America's rivers will only get more serious, said Glennon, and will require strong leadership at the local, state and federal levels of government.

"This is a tragedy of the commons," he said. "We need to start to recognize the economic value of water."

To access a copy of the report, see www.americanrivers.org