Drought and water overuse have plagued the West for years, and now state water officials in Colorado are looking to turn off the tap to 25,000 acres of irrigated farmland.
The water situation has long been the source of concern in the region, and officials across the West have been required to make sacrifices to preserve water and meet their water obligations to other states. Farmers in the Republican River basin in eastern Colorado are the latest to face the consequences of not enough water.
As water declines, Colorado has struggled to meet its obligations to Kansas and Nebraska as part of the Republican River Compact Agreement. To meet its requirements, Colorado water officials are required to cease irrigation to 25,000 acres in the Republican River basin before 2030.
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The acreage accounts for more than 25 percent of irrigated land in the area, and crops would then be at the mercy of drought.
If the state still can’t meet its water requirements after the cut, then all wells that irrigate the area will be turned off, accounting for more than 500,000 acres of land.
Newsweek reached out to Republican River Compact Administration by email for comment.
Fallowing that much farmland in the region would have dire consequences. Crops would fail, which would then put a strain on local businesses providing services and supplies to farmers. That loss in income would then spread to other businesses in the economy.
“What’s frightening about it is that it’s really an existential issue for those living in that region,” Colorado State University Professor Jordan Suter told the Greeley Tribune. “With good reason. If irrigated production goes away, the area can’t really support a large population.”
The impending impact will be an example of what could happen when water to a region is forfeited, something that officials have grown increasingly more worried about as water declines throughout the West. Newsweek previously reported that the Colorado River Basin has lost as much water as the size of Lake Mead over 21 years—equal to more than 10 trillion gallons.
Lake Mead’s water levels also have fallen at concerning rates, prompting concerns as to what would happen if the lake reached dead pool—or the level at which water is so low it can no longer flow downstream, although the reservoir did begin to recover after an abnormally wet winter in 2023.
However, government officials haven’t stopped trying to find a solution—even a temporary one. In 2023, the Biden Administration proposed a temporary solution to three states in the lower Colorado River basin after they bickered for months over who should be subjected to water cuts. The states agreed to conserve water in exchange for federal compensation made available through 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act.
However, some water officials are doubtful that the region can ever emerge from the water struggles that plague it. Colorado Water Center Director John Tracy thinks that the Republican River’s struggles are perpetual, with no end in sight.
“My guess is that at some point, in 2035 or 2040, Kansas will realize there’s not enough water coming down the river and they’ll be back at it,” Tracy told the Greeley Tribune. “We’re going to continuously be in this conversation forever. Get used to it.”
Newsweek has reached out to Tracy by email for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.