by Robert Marcos, photojournalist
In terms of actual volume consumed, cattle depend significantly more on Colorado River water than people do. All total, the Colorado River water that’s consumed by the 40 million people who have access to it represents about 18% of the river’s total allocate use. Meanwhile cattle and their forage – specifically alfalfa and hay, use 46% of the river’s allocated use, making livestock the single largest consumer of the Colorado River.1
The Data Breakdown
According to a landmark Nature Communications Earth & Environment study tracking the river’s allocation, the water consumption heavily favors cattle and the production of forage over use by cities. 2
Cattle Feed vs. Cities: Crops like alfalfa and grass hay consume roughly twice as much water as the combined municipal and industrial use of every single city that relies on the river – including massive hubs like Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, and Las Vegas. 3
The Agricultural Monopoly: Irrigated agriculture accounts for 52% of the river’s overall water consumption (which includes natural evaporation). Of that massive agricultural share, 62% goes strictly to feeding livestock. 4
Upper Basin Extreme: In the Upper Colorado River Basin (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming), cattle-feed crops consume 90% of all agricultural irrigation water. This is three times more water than all municipal, commercial, and industrial uses combined in that region. 5
Critical Nuance
Water policy experts note that most of the 40 million people who are said to “depend” upon Colorado River water actually utilize water from a variety of sources: including surface water, recycled water, groundwater, captured rain water, water from state water projects, and in some cases desalinated water. Only five American cities rely solely on Colorado River water: Yuma, Lake Havasu, Bullhead City, Needles, and Green River Wyoming. 6
Las Vegas draws approximately 90% of its water from Lake Mead, making it perhaps the most vulnerable major city to reservoir decline. Phoenix and the broader Phoenix metropolitan area relies on the river for about 40% of its water through the Central Arizona Project canal. Tucson receives most of its water from the Colorado River via the same 336-mile Central Arizona Project. Denver and Colorado’s Front Range cities draw water from the river’s headwaters through transmountain diversions like the Colorado-Big Thompson Project. The Imperial Valley and Coachella Valley in California—among the nation’s most productive agricultural regions—use more Colorado River water than any other area. 7