The Colorado River and You-Day 1

Name: ______P: ____

Part 1: How do you use water?

  1. Brainstorm a list of how humans use water. Record your responses on post-it notes. One method per post-it note.
  2. Try to organize the different water uses into categories.
  3. Record the categories the class listed: ______

______

  1. Place your post-it notes under each category.

Part 2: Where does our water come from?

Watch: I am Red available at (3:46)

  1. What is your reaction to the video?

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Read: Student Handout A

  1. What is the source of Vegas’ water supply?

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  1. How does Nevada’s water allocation compare to the 7 other states in the Boulder Canyon Project Act of 1928?

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  1. How does the input into the Colorado River system compare to the output of water?

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  1. What are two major reasons water supplies are stressed in the Southwestern United States?

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The Colorado River and You-Day 2

Name: ______P: ____

Part 3: Are we running out of water?

Read the Climate.gov article,Western drought brings Lake Mead to lowest level since it was built, available at

  1. When was this article written? ______
  1. According to the article, when did the Lake Mead reservoir reach its lowest water level since the lake was first filled during the construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s?______
  1. What was the water level (elevation) at the time the article was written? ______ft
  1. What do you predict the current elevation of the water at Lake Mead to be? ______ft
  1. Go to to find the most recentelevation of the water in Lake Mead: ______ft
  1. How did your prediction of the elevation of the water compare to the actual level of the lake? ______

______What could account for the difference in your prediction and the actual level of the lake? ______

______

  1. How could the data on the US Bureau of Reclamation’s website be presented differently in order to help the reader visualize the trends in the water elevation over time? ______

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  1. Are fluctuations in the water level in Lake Mead expected? ______
  1. What concerns do scientists have regarding increased greenhouse gas concentrations, a changing climate, and the water supply in the Southwest region? ______

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BRAINPOP: DAMS

Pros of Dams / Cons of Dams

The Colorado River and You-Day 3

Name: ______P: ____

Part 4: What are the tradeoffs?

Individual Task:

  1. Read the Water Demand cards, discuss them with your group,and then list the tradeoffs associated with each.

Fruits and Vegetables / Household Use
Pros / Cons / Pros / Cons
Hoover Dam / Landscape Irrigation
Pros / Cons / Pros / Cons
Meat and Livestock / Mining
Pros / Cons / Pros / Cons
National Parks / Plant and Animal Habitats
Pros / Cons / Pros / Cons

Small Group Task:

  1. Assign a priority: Rank the cards from MOST to LEAST important and set them on their desk.
  2. Compare the priorities: When all groups are finished, we will do a gallery walk around the classroom, so everyone can see other group’s rankings.

Small Group Task #2: Discuss the questions below with your group. Answer the questions on your group’s whiteboard, and be ready to share out.

  • Why did you choose your order?
  • Do you want to change your order after you have seen other groups’ rankings or heard their explanations?

IndividualTask:

  1. Using the table, record the list of the water demand cards from the most important to the least important and write a reason why your group ranked the cards the way you did.

Rank / Water Demand / Reason for Ranking
Most Important

Least Important

The Colorado River and You-Day 4

Name: ______P: ____

Part 5: How should the water be conserved?

Problem: Water levels in Lake Mead are decreasing.

Criteria: The proposed solution needs to address the problem of decreasing water levels at Lake Mead. Your solution needs to address the priority list you created in Part 4.

Constraints: Your solution must use technologies that are currently available and be a realistic option.

  1. Individual Work: Use the information that you learned or researched to propose a solution to the problem. Base your solution on the priority list that you completed in Part 4.
  1. Small Group Discussion: Share your potential solution with your group. Compare your ideas and decide on one solution that will be presented to the class. Record your recommended solution below AND on your group’s whiteboard!
  1. Whole Class Discussion: Present your solution written on your whiteboard to the class. Listen to the other groups and record their solution as well as the priorities they considered in designing their solution. Each proposed solution needs to take into consideration the criteria and constraints addressed above.

Group / Summary of Proposed Solution / Priorities for Solution
  1. How did your solution compare to the other solutions presented by your classmates?
  1. After hearing all of the possible solutions, write your final recommended solution below.

Extension: Research how humans impacted the environment by damming and utilizing the water on the Colorado River.

Environmental Impact of the Hoover Dam
Source:

The change in water use caused by Hoover Dam’s construction has had a large impact on the Colorado River Delta. The construction of the dam has been credited as causing the decline of this estuarine ecosystem. For six years, after the construction of the dam and while Lake Mead filled, virtually no water reached the mouth of the river. The delta's estuary, which once had a freshwater-saltwater mixing zone stretching 40 miles (64 km) south of the river's mouth, was turned into an inverse estuary where the level of salinity was higher close to the river's mouth.

The Colorado River had experienced natural flooding before the construction of the Hoover Dam. The dam eliminated the natural flooding, which imperiled many species adapted to the flooding, including both plants and animals. The construction of the dam devastated the populations of native fish in the river downstream from the dam. Four species of fish native to the Colorado River, the Bonytail chub, Colorado pikeminnow, Humpback chub, and Razorback sucker, are currently listed as endangered.

Using the list of web sites provided by your teacher, answer the following:

Before the Hoover Dam was built, many of the currently listed endangered fish were already being affected by non-native fish, plants, and animals that were introduced by humans into the Colorado River (a problem still happening today). Currently, many endangered fish are being hatched and released through services with the National Park Service. Make an evidence based claim on whether or not it is important to continue to try to save the native fish populations in Lake Mead.

Native and Non-native Fish Resources:

“An experiment to Control Nonnative Fish in the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, Arizona.”

“A Synthesis of Aquatic Science for Management of Lakes Mead and Mohave.”

“Endangered Fish of the Colorado Plateau”

Native fish of the Lower Colorado River

Analysis Questions

  1. How has human activity altered the natural environment of the Colorado River watershed? Describe both the positive and negative effects humans have had on different living things.
  1. Complete the following graphic organizers to compare evidence for the following two claims.

Claim 1: The construction of Hoover Dam POSITIVELY affected the environment.

Claim 2: The construction of the Hoover Dam NEGATIVELY affected the environment.

  1. Based on the evidence and reasoning above, do you think the Hoover Dam should have been built?Explain your thoughts in a paragraph below.