usbr.gov

About 40 million people rely on the Colorado River.

 From farmers to city dwellers, the people who rely on the Colorado River have made steady progress in using water more efficiently over the past few decades, according to a new report from the federal government.

There is still a lot of uncertainty about what the water situation will look like on the Colorado River 40 years from now.

According to the report, demand could outstrip supply by up to 7 million acre feet. A more likely scenario puts the imbalance at about half that number. Either way, long-term planning needs to start now, said Pam Adams, a hydrologist with the Bureau of Reclamation, which published the study.

Adams said the good news is that recent trends are heading in the right direction. In the major metropolitan areas, per-capita water use has decreased by 11 percent to 38 percent since 1990. 

In the case of agriculture, Adam said, "The amount of water [being used] hasn’t changed much, but productivity has increased basin wide by about 25 percent since 1980. So they are, in fact, using water smarter.”

Going forward, Adams said they’ll look at the long-term solutions for dealing with growing demand on the Colorado River.