In “The Sun Also Rises,” one of the main characters was asked how he went bankrupt.

“Two ways,” he replied. “Gradually and then suddenly.”

The same could be said for the demise of the Colorado River.

Many of us have seen this train wreck coming for years, the slow buildup of chronic overuse, coupled with a river that no longer produces as much water as it used to, that is draining Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the nation’s two largest water savings accounts.

And if things don’t change soon, 40 million people who rely on this river are about to suddenly realize that decisionmakers squandered every dollar spent on buying time to fix this fundamental problem.

The mismatch between supply and demand began emerging around 2000, and by 2007, the feds had created the first set of shortage guidelines, hoping those mandatory cuts would be enough to stave off crisis.

But we now know that they weren’t nearly enough to reduce the drag on the lakes. Deeper cuts were made. Billions of dollars were set aside to pay people to temporarily not use water.

And we’ve stabilized Lake Mead and Lake Powell, for now.

But those rules and agreements expire at the end of 2026.  

Water users across the basin have for years been talking about what to do next. They agree that water use should be cut deeper and for the longer haul than we have before.

There are even proposals to do so.

But no one........

© Arizona Republic