Regarding the current Colorado River status and political issues. First off, the Colorado River deserves a minimal flow throughout its length. No matter what! The desert states such as Arizona, Nevada
and California need to understand that portions of their states are deserts, and they need to start to act accordingly.
There needs to be laws that force property owners to only plant desert plants and no longer plant natural grass or non-desert vegetation. If they do they pay a lot more for their water bill. Golf courses should be required to change to desert golf courses and only use reclaimed water from wastewater treatment plants.
Also, agriculture in desert areas needs to change, only low water use crops should be allowed to be grown in these desert states. Remember a desert is an area that gets less than 10 inches of precipitation per year. [Phoenix's current yearly average is closer to 7 inches]. These desert states also need to wake up and understand that they are not just going through a drought. Phoenix has been in a “drought” for about 20 years. Due to global climate change, for the desert states the current precipitation is the new normal.
Joseph Drosendahl, Phoenix
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Desert growth needs desert rules | Letters
