River Colorado, which is found in North America, has its source in the Colorado Rocky Mountains and flows to the Gulf of California. The river has a variety of infrastructure, which includes several streams that join the river, such as Kanab and Paria. Mojave and the Sonoran deserts flank the lower part of the river. The river has a natural dam that resulted from a load of silt accumulating over the valleys ad mountains. Additionally, the river created the Salton Sea as a result of its waters running through the Salton sink. The high demand for freshwater is being dealt with through water conservation, reuse, and other innovative measures that prevent water shortages from natural water sources. The water needs in the current highly populated regions are met through implementing innovative water-saving methods such as preventing dust and snow from landing in the water and increasing the rates of evaporation. Increasing the levels of water reuse by treating used water and re-using the same for other purposes such as irrigation and industrial usage helps to meet the high demand for water from large populations (Small, 2015, p.409). The escalation of renewable energy, such as wind-solar requires less or no water usage in energy production. Colorado River could be faced with a variety of challenges in the future. Such challenges include jeopardized water quality through agriculture overdraw that increases the saline levels of the river. The flow of water could be threatened by climate change and overconsumption of water (Nash, 1993). These problems could be dealt with through the controlled consumption of water to ensure that individuals do not overexploit the river. Individuals can adopt the practice of water reuse by treating used water and utilizing it in agriculture and other sectors to reduce over-dependence on the river as the only source of water.
References
Nash, L. L. (1993). The Colorado River Basin and climatic change: The sensitivity of streamflow and water supply to variations in temperature and precipitation . US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation.
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Small, X. T. (2015). Water Use and Recycling in Hydraulic Fracturing: Creating a Regulatory Pilot for Smarter Water Use in the West. Natural resources journal , 55 (2), 409-440.
Wright, R. T. (2007). Environmental science: toward a sustainable future . Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
