Negotiations continue to manage Colorado River water

aced with the lack of water due to the severe drought and also to the competition for Colorado River water, farmers and ranchers must modernize their irrigation system, in fact, the state of Utah has created a program to pay for new and efficient equipment, since agriculture uses most of the water.

But there are many players in this situation who are at the negotiating table to manage and administer Colorado River water such as the upper Colorado basin states of Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico and the lower California states of Arizona and Nevada, as well as the native tribes who are demanding more representation, as well as the workers who must be included because they are also being affected.

Alex Hager, Reporter for the Colorado River Basin, KUNC 91.5 FM, Greely, CO; points out how important water is for agriculture and different sectors.

He also explains how the negotiations to reach agreements on the management of the Colorado River are going.

Alex Hager, comments that it is difficult to reach agreements, but he recognizes that there is something they agree on.

He comments that there are plans that are being put forward in the negotiations, but they are mainly for the cities, but what is at issue and which covers most of the problem are the agricultural lands.

For his part, Juan Roberto Madrid, Environmental Defender of GreenLatinos Colorado, recognizes that the workers have no representation at the negotiating table and that the governments only support the ranchers and forget about those who plant, who are the workers, many of whom are immigrants.

Juan Roberto Madrid talks about the actions they are taking so that the workers are not left out of the negotiations.

Juan Roberto Madrid, comments that one of his concerns is that the workers do not have support.

He says that there are farms that are growing corn crops and are using cultivation practices that our ancestors used to use to take care of the water.

He points out that as an alternative he can plant seeds that use less water.

This program is part of the Cuando se Seca el Arroyo series, supported in part by The Walton Family Foundation.