Why is the Rio Grande running dry? | Sarah Walker Gorrell | NewsBreak Original

What’s happening to the water?

The clear snow-fed stream of the Rio Grande begins its journey toward the Gulf of Mexico, high in the Rocky Mountains. The snow melt from the San Juan Mountains of Colorado and northwestern Mexico feeds into the Rio Grande.

The San Juan Mountains are extremely steep and receive heavy amounts of snow. The Rio Grande drains to the eastern side of the range, while the tributaries on the western side flow into the Colorado River, which also has water issues.

By the time the Rio Grande reaches the Gulf, it covers approximately 1,900 miles over mountains and deserts, watering crops as it passes through agricultural regions along its journey.

The Rio Grande is North America’s fourth longest river, following Missouri, the Mississippi, and the Yukon.

The Rio Grande compact, signed in 1938, split the Rio Grande water between the three states of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. In 2013, Texas filed a lawsuit claiming that New Mexico was pumping groundwater out of the Elephant Butte Reservoir, preventing Texas from receiving its fair share of the water.

Because of extreme drought, declining precipitation, and the many diversions of dams and water consumption by cities and farmland, the water levels in the Rio Grande have been affected. For the first time in 40 years, the Rio Grande has run dry in parts of…