Saving the Colorado River
Published on Nov 18, 2015
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Stretching about 1,450 miles along the Southwestern part of the United States, the Colorado River supplies water to over 30 million people. The Colorado River begins in Rocky Mountain National Park and flows into the Sea of Cortez (aka the Gulf of California).
Photo by James Marvin Phelps
However, the river rarely makes it to the Sea before it dries up. People in both the United States and Mexico use up over 5 trillion gallons of water, endangering the river and the environment that survives off of it, including plants, animals, and people.
Photo by Camerons Personal Page
Because the Colorado River provides water for many things, the fact that it is drying up is extremely alarming. If the river dries up, it will put millions of people out of a job, out of a reliable source of water, and endanger countless species of plants and animals.
Photo by tab2space
The public policy change that should be adopted is a government tax incentive for limiting and conserving personal and household water consumption.
Photo by Kino Praxis
Tax incentives would be distributed to people in accordance to their water consumption. The water consumption would determined through water bills, which would be represent the amount of water a particular household had used in a month. At the end of each year, the city/state government would determine the tax incentive accordance to how much water the household used.
Photo by Rubén Díaz Alonso
Because the Colorado River spans several states, the process of getting a government incentive for saving water would be a national issue, so it would have to go the the federal government for processing.
Photo by ..Russ..
Before a law can be made the people would need to vote and petition for a government incentive. After the bill is approved, it moves to a committee, where it is then reviewed and possibly released to be voted on, amended, and/or debated on.
Photo by Tony Frates
If the bill is passed by simple majority, the bill moves to the Senate floor. It is again sent to a committee and released, debated, or amended and voted upon. If the bill is passed by simple majority, a conference committee is called, of both House and Senate members, where the bill is reviewed and differences are fixed.
Photo by Al_HikesAZ
The revised and approved bill is then presented to the President, who will either sign or veto it. If the President signs the bill, it becomes a law, and now a government incentive for preserving water is in place, saving the Colorado River, as well as other rivers in the United States.
Photo by frankpierson
A government tax incentive for limiting household and personal water consumption would be effective because the extra money that would come from the incentive is appealing to many people, especially in times of financial crisis, so they would save water and gain money, a win win situation.
Photo by tombothetominator
However, in order to make this work, the government would have to spend money. Lots of money. Enough money to give incentives to those who follow through on saving water, if that's how that particular incentive were to be handled. Or the government could take the money out of the peoples taxes, which would lower the government spending, but also the government income.
Photo by chrismar
Although this method doesn't seem particularly feasible, it is because it would help the economy. Giving the people more money would increase personal spending of individuals. Also, saving the Colorado River would increase recreational activities such as rafting, increasing revenue, and therefore spending.
Photo by jurvetson
Tourism through the Grand Canyon National Park would also increase, which would increase government revenue. So in reality, the overall benefits outweigh the government spending, making this solution feasible.
Photo by ebatty
The Colorado River is one of the most endangered rivers in America. It supplies water for many people, provides recreational activities for millions more, and supplies water for over 4 million acres of agriculture. It spans 7 states in the United States, 2 states in Mexico and empties into the Sea of Cortez. However, due to overuse, the River dries up before it reaches the sea. In order to save the Colorado River and the ecosystems that depend on it, a law should be made about tax incentives for the people who limit their water consumption. This would save the river, animals, agriculture, people and the economy.
Photo by joedecruyenaere
