Letter: The water joke is on consumers
Who are the biggest users of Colorado River water? Hint, it sure isn’t residents taking long showers. A recent study in a scientific journal indicates that the vast majority (79% each year) of our water is used for crops to feed beef cattle. Growers of cattle-feed crops like alfalfa and grass hay were found to be overwhelmingly the largest single consumers of water in the Colorado River basin (CRB). Domestic water use accounts for just 13% of this same regional consumption according to this research article.
Yes, some of us eat beef but almost 80% of Colorado River water is used each year to grow hay and similar crops? It’s mind-boggling.
Makes this consumer wonder about why domestic users pay such high water bills, why we are constantly reminded to conserve water as household users? For example, the Vail Daily reported in January that 100K gallons of water is to be saved by watering less turf; truly silly because 100K gallons of water is nothing compared to 1.5 trillion gallons per year used to irrigate hay and similar cattle feed crops in the CRB.
The authors in this article suggest that one way to reduce cattle-feed water consumption is to temporarily fallow some currently irrigated land. Secondly, improved irrigation equipment promotes less water waste. Fallowing is deemed to be the most immediate and most effective.
So, while I will certainly make reasonable efforts to keep the showers brief, it’s crucial to realize who the real water users are in the Colorado River basin. It’s not me, it’s not you — it’s the alfalfa being grown for those burgers.
Support Local Journalism
Steve Garrison
Vail
