Water Education Foundation: Lower Colorado River Tour

• Water Education Foundation
• Las Vegas, NV

Explore the lower Colorado River firsthand where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.

The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to some 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs is the focus of this tour.

This year’s tour comes while the river is undergoing extraordinary and historic turmoil, just over a century after signing of the 1922 Colorado River Compact that anchors a collection of legal documents collectively known as the “Law of the River.” The compact divided the river’s watershed into two basins, established the water allotment for each basin and provided a framework for management of the river’s water resources.

Already plagued by more than 20 years of drought, officials and water users are experiencing unprecedented conditions fueled by climate change. Even with recent improvements to snowpack, the long period of extreme dryness has sent Lake Powell and Lake Mead plunging to record low elevations below 30% of capacity, prompting the first-ever shortage declaration to occur in 2022. Despite Drought Contingency Plans enacted just a few years ago, experts agree even more urgent actions will be required before the current set of operating guidelines expires in 2025.

This 3-day, 2-night tour journeys along the Lower Colorado River from Hoover Dam and Lake Mead to the Salton Sea and the Coachella Valley, including a boat trip through scenic Topock Gorge. Along the way, experts will discuss challenges related to what is the most contested, beloved for recreation and meticulously managed river in the United States.

Contact Programs Director Nick Gray via email with any tour questions.