Save The Colorado Wants Action On Colorado River Basin Study

For Immediate Release
May 28, 2013
Contact: Gary Wockner, Save The Colorado River Campaign

Save The Colorado Wants Action On Colorado River Basin Study

San Diego – Today, the federal government, state governments, tribes, and environmental groups are convening in San Diego to discuss the “Next Steps” in the Colorado River Basin Study.  The San Diego meeting comes after the initial study, released in 2012, predicted that the supply of Colorado River water would be significantly outpaced by the demand for water as population growth and climate change continue to grip the Southwest U.S.  The “Next Steps” include creating three “working groups” that will move the study forward around the topics of municipal water conservation, agricultural water conservation, and environmental flows in the river.

“When Secretary Salazar released the study in 2012, he said it was a ‘Call To Action,’” said Gary Wockner who directs the Save The Colorado River campaign. “The federal government needs to push this study into action especially in terms of healthy flows in the Colorado River – a plan of action and funding mechanisms to protect and restore the river is a crucial next step.  We need to provide hope for the ecological health of the Colorado River and the millions of people who depend on it.”

In newspaper reports the day before the San Diego meeting, Assistant Secretary of Interior Anne Castle echoed the sentiment to take action to address the region’s water supply challenges, as quoted in the Los Angeles Times:

“The December report and its “call to action” cannot become “a study that just sits on a shelf,” said Anne Castle, assistant Interior secretary for water and science.” (LA Times)

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Save The Colorado will be live tweeting the meeting starting at 3:00PM PST from @SaveTheColorado