THIS IS COLORADO RIVER AND MUCH MORE THAN WHAT WE RAFT AND FISH IT. >> IT'S AMAZING. THE COLORADO RIVER IS BEAUTIFUL. EVERY DAY 40 MILLION PEOPLE DRINK WATER FROM THIS RIVER. >> AND IT GENERATED ELECTRICITY FOR MILLIONS MORE. >> THE HYDRO POWER IS A SECONDARY BENEFIT OF HOOVER DAM. AND WHEN IT COMES TOT FOOD ON YOUR TABLE. >> WITHOUT THAT WATER, THIS PLACE WOULD NOT GROW ANYTHING, IT'S A DESERT. >> MOST OF THE FRUIT AND VEGETABLES YOU EAT ARE WATER BY THE COLORADO RIVER. >> IT'S EIGHT-YEAR DROUGHT WAS REALLY TESTING THE SYSTEM. >> THE COLORADO RIVER IS MORE THAN JUST A RIVER IN COLORADO. >> WELL, IT'S THE LIFELINE OF THE WEST. . >> FROM WHAT RAIL JUST A TRICKLE OF WATER HERE IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN ENGLISH THE COLORADO RIVER HAS BEEN A LIFELINE FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS. I'M DENVER 7 LISA HIDALGO AND WELCOME TO GLENWOOD SPRING MS.. >> I'M LUBBER AND WE'LL TRACK FIRSTHAND JUST HOWEVER THIS RIVER IMPACT ALWAYS OF US NOT ONLY IN COLORADO, BUT LONG ALL 1400 MILES OF ITS BANKS. WE'RE GOING SHOW YOU NOT ONLY HOW WE PUT WATER AND RIVER TO WORK IN COLORADO, BUT I'M GOING TO TAKE YOU ON A ROAD-TRIP THROUGH ARIZONA, TO SHOW YOU HOW DAMS AND THE COLORADO HAVE RESHAPED THE LANDSCAPE PROVIDING WATER, ELECTRICITY AND EVEN THE FOOD ON YOUR PLATE. WHILE THE RIVER LOOKS HEALTHY, AND LIVELY HERE, SOME SAY IT'S NOT BEING TREATED THE WAY IT SHOULD. >> IN FACT, WHEN CONSERVATION COLORADO GRADED CAN'T OF THE COLORADO THIS SUMMER, THEY GAVE IT A D. IT MAY NOT LOOKS LIKE MUCH HERE, BUT THIS SMALL STREAM OF COLD WATER IS THE HEAD WATERS OF THE COLORADO RIVER. THE WATER COMES FROM A LAKE ON THE POWDER PASS IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK AND TO GRAND LAKE. IT IS HERE IN GRAMBY WHERE MUCH OF THE WATER IS DIVERTED AND IT THE GETS PUMPED THROUGH A SERIES OF TUNNELS TO HOMES AND BUSINESSES ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS. IN FACT, EVEN THOUGH THE COLORADO RIVER ONLY FLOWS ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE ABOUT HALF THE WAY THAT WE USE ACROSS THE METRO AREA COMES FROM THE RIVER. THAT IS HAS CONSERVATION GROUPS CONCERNS. >> AT ITS CORE THIS RIVER HAS BEEN CALLED THE AMERICAN NILE. AND IT'S BECAUSE IT IS SO IMPORTANT FOR THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST, AND MEXICO. THE WILDERNESS AND PUBLIC LANDS ASECOND FOR CONSERVATION COLORADO TOOK ME ON A RAFT TRIP THROUGH GLENWOOD SPRINGS TO TALK ABOUT THE D-GRADE THAT HE THE GROUP GAVE THE RIVER. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CONCERN RIGHT NOW? >> REALLY THE BIGGEST CONCERN WITH THE COLORADO RIVER IS JUST HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE DEPENDING ON ITS WATER. COLORADO'S POPULATION PROJECTED, YOU KNOW, TO REALLY GROW AND ALMOST DOUBLE OVER THE NEXT GENERATION, AND WITH -- AND YOU KNOW, ACCUMULATING IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE THAT MAKE OURS SNOW PACK A LITTLE MORE IFFY. AND MAKE RUNSOFF EARLIER EACH YEAR. YOU KNOW, THIS RIVER IS REALLY IN DANGER OF BEING OVERALLOCATED. >> SCOTT SAYS BECAUSE COLORADO IS AT THE HEADWATERS OF THE RIVER WE DON'T ALWAYS SEE THE SAME STRESSES THAT THOSE LIVING IN UTAH, ARIZONA AND CALIFORNIA SEE. >> IF THE TRENDS CONTINUE AS THEY ARE, WE'RE GOING FIND OURSELVES IN THE SITUATION WHERE THERE IS NOT ENOUGH WATER TO GO AROUND. >> Reporter: ANOTHER CONCERN, CLIMATE CHANGE. >> SCIENTISTS BELIEVE IN COLORADO TEMPERATURES ARE GOING TO RISE ABOUT 2-AND-A-HALF TO 5 DEGREES BY 2050. SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? IT MEANS LESS SNOW AND MORE EVAPORATION AND IN TURN, LESS WATER. >> WHATEVER YOUR VIEWS ON CLIMATE CHANGE ARE, THE REDUCTION IN FLOWS, AND SOME OF THE REDUCTION IN SNOW PACKS, SNOW PACKS IN MOUNTAINS WE HAVE SEEN THE LAST FEW YEARS IS RISK. >> WHILE CLIMATE CHANGE MAY NOT BE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN INDIVIDUALLY CONTROL, WE CAN ALL TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT THE RIVER. >> A LOT OF THIS IS BASED ON TEMPERATURE AND THINGS DOWN THE ROAD HAPPENING. WHAT DOES THE AVERAGE VIEWER DO? >> IT CAN BE REALLY DAUNTING. THE COLORADO RIVER IS SO BIG AND SO MANY PEOPLE DEPEND ON IT, THAT WHAT DOES AN INDIVIDUAL, WHAT CAN THEY DO? I THINK HAVING AWARENESS OF THE ISSUE IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT FIRST THING. BUT THEN, PEOPLE CAN WORK TOWARDS WATER CONSERVATION IN THEIR OWN LIVES. THEY CAN LOOK FOR WAYS TO REDUCE WATER CONSUMPTION AND CHOOSE APPLIANCES FOR THEIR HOMES THAT CONSUME LIST WATER. >> WHETHER YOU THINK THE MANMADE CHANGES IN THE ARE HEALTHY OR NOT, THERE IS NO DENYING THIS IS AN IMPRESSIVE JOURNEY, 5th LONGEST RIVER IN THE U.S. >> NONE OF IT IS POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE SNOW PACK FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS IN COLORADO. THE BULL SNOW COVERED MOUNTAINS ARE MORE THAN A MAGNET FOR SKIERS AND HIKERS. THEY ARE A GIANT STORAGE FACILITY FOR WATER. >> ESPECIALLY HERE IN DENVER AND MANY CITIES THROUGHOUT THE WEST, YOU GO TO YOUR TAP, FOUR OUT OF EVERY FIVE GLASSES OF WATER THAT YOU FILL UP WILL HAVE ORIGINATED AS SNOW. >> KEITH IS A HYDROLOGIST WITH THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH IN BOULDER. >> IT'S ALSO A SOBERING THOUGHT BECAUSE WE'RE SO RELIANT UPON THAT RESOURCE AND IT'S THAT RELIANCE AND IT'S THE INCREASE IN POPULATION PARTICULARLY HERE IN THE FRONT RANGE THAT MANY CITIES ACROSS THE WEST, WHERE WE NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW MUCH WATER THERE IS IN ANY GIVEN YEAR. >> MOUNTAINING COLORADO'S PRECIOUS SNOW PACK SAY FULL- TIME JOB. >> THERE IS A LOT THAT GOES INTO IT ON TOP OF MAKING SURE THAT ALL OF YOUR WATER USERS DOWN BELOW ARE GETTING WATER THAT THEY NEED. >> BRIAN IS THE SNOW SURVEY SOURCE FEDERAL COURT U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HERE IN COLORADO. THE U.S.D.A. USES DATA COLLECTED AT SNOW TELL SITES LIKE THIS ONE ON THE PASS TO KEEP AN EYE ON HOW MUCH WATER IS IN THE KNOW PACK. >> DURING WINTER WE WANT SNOW AND DURING THE SUMMER WE WANT AN APPROPRIATE ANALYST OF RAIN. >> BRIAN SAYS GOOD WINTERS LIKE THIS PAST ONE ARE AREN'T JUST GOOD FOR OUR STATE, BUT PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN UTAH AND A.R.S., WHO HAVE RIGHT TO THE WATER AS WELL. >> PROVIDING THAT WATER TO THEM, AS WELL AS MAKING SURE YOU ARE RETAINING INSTREAM FLOWS, AND MEETING ALL OF YOUR COMPACTS FOR DOWNSTREAM WATER USERS OUT-OF-STATE. IT'S EXTREMELY COMPLEX. >> WHILE THE WATER FROM THAT SNOW PACK FLOWS FROM COST ALONG THE RIVER'S DOROUS, A WILL THE OF IT MAKES ITS WAY INTO THE COLORADO AS THE RIVERHEADS SOUTHWEST THROUGH GRAMBY TO WHERE WE ARE IN GLENWOOD SPRINGS. >> FROM INENWOOD THE RUNS RUN WEST TO GRAND JUNCTION AND. >> UNTIL 1921 WHEN WE KNOW AS THE COLORADO RIVER WAS KNOWN AS THE GRANTED RIVER. GRAND LAKE, GRAND JUNCTION AND GRAND CANYON, THOSE NAMES ARE NO CASINO. >> AND COINCIDENCE. >> THE LIFELINE OF THE WEST CONTINUES, I'M HEADING DOWN STREAM IS TO LAKE POWELL. WE WOULDN'T BE HERE WITHOUT THE COLORADO RIVER. IT'S ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR DESTINATIONS FOR VISITORS. I WILL TAKE YOU ON AN AERIAL TOUR. AND WE'LL MAKE A PIT-STOP IN LAS VEGAS WHEN COLORADO RIVER LIFELINE OF THE WIRE TRACK THE IMPRESSIVE 1400- MILE JOURNEY UP THE COLORADO RIVER FROM COLORADO ALL THE WAY TO THE BORDER WITH MEXICO. WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN HOW MUCH OF WATER STARTS AS SNOW PACK IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK AND NEXT STOP FOR THE RIVER, UTAH. THE UTAH PORTION OF THE RIVER OF COURSE STARTS ON AT COLORADO PLATEAU TO MOAB. THE WATER SWEEPS BY ARCHES AND CANYON LANDS NATIONAL PARK. BOTH AMAZING LANDSCAPES ERODED INTO CANYONS AND MESAS BY THE COLORADO AND GREEN COMBINE IN ONE DOWNSTREAM. >> AFTER THOSE RIVERS COMBINE, THEY HEAD HERE, LAKE POWELL. THE LAKE FORMED BEHIND THE ENORMOUS DAM. >> LAKE POWELL IS 189 MILES LONG WITH MORE THAN 1900 MILES OF SHORELINE ALONE. SO IT'S FROM THE AIR WHERE YOU GET THE BASTBEST VANTAGE POINT. >> THIS SECTION WE'RE GOING OVER IS THE HISTORIC COLORADO RIVER CHANNEL. >> NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PILOT NICK HERRING IS OUR TOUR GUIDE AND EVEN FINDING A BIT OF HOME FOR US. >> YOU SEE THAT LITTLE MOUNT THERE IS CALLED CASTLE ROCK. >> THE REAL STAR IS THE WATER. >> THE LAKE IS PROBABLY THE LARGEST ECONOMIC GENERATOR IN THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY. THE BOATING AND ALL OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT BOATING AND RECREATION IS PRETTY SIGNIFICANT. >> THE COLORADO RIVER, YOU KNOW, FEEDS SO MUCH WATER INTO LAKE POWELL HERE. I MEAN, IT'S WHAT FILLS THE LAKE. >> ABSOLUTELY. THAT AND THE SAN JUAN RIVER, THE TWO MAJOR TRIBUTARIES AND COLORADO BEING NO. 1 FROM THE TIME THE DAM WAS BUILT FROM NOW, I'M NOT SURE EARLY ON THEY REALLY RECOGNIZED WHAT THE POTENTIAL WAS FOR THE GROWTH THAT IT HAS SPURRED OVER THE YEARS. >> GLEN CANYON WAS NOT THE FIRST CHOICE FOR THIS DAM AND RESERVOIR. >> THAT STORY IS FASCINATING TO ME, BECAUSE WE HAVE THIS RESERVOIR IN COLORADO. >> THE PARK SUPERINTENDENT SAYS THE FIRSPLAN EXTRO PUT IT IN ECOCANYON DINER DINOSAUR MONUMENT. >> THIS WAS SUCH A WELL-OH,ED POLITICAL FIGHT, IT REALLY KIND OF ACTIVATED A LOT OF DIFFERENT WELL-ORGANIZED MOVEMENTS IN THE WEST AND STARTING TO LOOK AT HOW LAND IS USED AND ESPECIALLY HOW WATER IS USED. >> THE WATER IS USED IN PART OF THE FIVE STATES THAT MAKE UP THE UPPER BASIN, ARIZONA, COLORADO, NEW MEXICO, UTAH AND WYOMING, WHERE THE GREEN RIVER STARTS BEFORE JOINING THE COLORADO. >> WE HAD A REALLY GOOD RUN- OFF THIS YEAR. >> ACUTIC ECOMINGS MARK ANDERSON SAYS THE WATER LEVEL HAS BEEN HIGHER. >> WE HAVE AREAS OF THE LAKE THAT ARE OPENING THAT HAVEN'T BEEN OPENED IN SEAS. >> IS GREAT NEWS FOR THE LAKE'S AQUATIC INHABITANTS. >> THERE HAVE SOME LEVELS THAT MIGHT WERE ABOVE WATER IN PREVIOUS YEARS AND NOW IN WATER. THAT CAN PROVIDE NURSERY HABITAT FOR CERTAIN SPECIES. >> FISHING AND BOATING ARE JUST SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT ATTRACT MORE THAN 3 MILLION VISITORS, VISITORS LIKE BILL AND DORY OF NEW JERSEY. >> IT'S UNBELIEVABLE HOW BIG THIS LAKE IS. >> LATER WE'RE GOING GO TO THE DAM. AND WE'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH THE TUNNEL, AND TAKE THE RAFTS. >> DOWN THE RIVER -- NOT DOWN -- WE DON'T WANT TO GO -- YOU KNOW, TOT ROUGH PART [ LAUGHTER ]. >> THAT PART IS JUST GREAT. >> THE BOWERSOCKS HAVE BEEN DOWN RIVER FROM THE GLEN CANYON DAM AND THEY LIKE WHAT THEY HAVE SEEN. BEFORE THAT WATER GETS TO THE GRAND CANYON, IT PASSES A CRITICAL POINT, LEE'S FERRY JUST DOWN STREMME. THIS IS A SPOT WHERE THE RIVER IS DIVIDED INTO TWO BASINS FOR WATER RIGHTS PURPOSES. UPPER BASIN WHICH RECUR MENTIONED INCLUDES PARTS OF UTAH, ARIZONA, COLORADO NEW MEXICO AND WYOMING AND THE LOWER BASIN INCLUDES OTHER PARTS OF UTAH, ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO AS WELL AS PARTS OF NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA. WATER RIGHTS LAWS REGARDING THE COLORADO RIVER ARE AS COMPLICATES AS THEY ARE OVER AND THE COMPACT THAT DIVIDES THE RIVER INTO THOSE TWO BASINS WAS SIGNED INTO LAW IN 1922. MAKING IT 95 YEARS OLD THIS YEAR. BUT EVERY STATE IS GUARANTEED A, SR. AMOUNT OF WATER. ONCE THE WATER LEAVES YMCA GLEN CANYON AND LEAVES LEE'S FERRY IT WINDS THROUGH THE 270-MILE LONG GRAND CANYON AND TAKING THE COLORADO RIVER SOME 6 MILLION YEARS TO CARVE THE MILE- DEEP CANYON IN ARIZONA. AFTER THE GRAND CANYON, THE COLORADO STOPS HERE, HOOVER DAM, LAKE MEAD AND CAPACITY, IT'S ONE OF THE LARGEST RESERVOIRS IN THE NATION PRETTY COOL. YOU DON'T SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN DES MOINES IOWA. >> THEY BROUGHT THEIR FAMILY TO SEE THE HOOVER DAM AND HE GREW UP IN NEARBY LAS VEGAS, IT'S EVERY ONE ELSE'S FIRST TIME SAGE THE DAM AND LAKE MEAD, FOND MELRYS FOR RON. >> IT'S MORE GOING TO LAKE MEAD AND BOATING AND FISHING, AND DOING SKIING, AND STUFF LIKE THAT. >> STILL WHAT HE SEES TODAY IS A BIT DISTURBING. >> IT IS A LOT LOWER THAN WHAT I'M USED TO SEEING. YOU CAN SEE THE WATERLINE, AND USUALLY IT'S A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, BELOW THAT NORMALLY. >> THE DROUGHT REALLY KICKED IN 2000 AND WE HAD 17 YEARS' OF DROUGHT. SO RIGHT NOW YOU ARE SEE CHICAGO YOU LOOK AROUND IS 145' BELOW. >> THIS LAKE IS REALLY A LIFELINE AND, IN FACT, WATER IS THE LIFE BLAST SOUTHWEST AND HOOVER DAM AND ITS REGULATING DAMS DOWNSTREAM MAKE SURE THE DELIVER WHERE DELIVERIES INCLUDING LAS VEGAS. >> 90% OF THE USED IF LAS VEGAS COMES FROM LAKE MEAD, WHICH IS ABOUT AN HOUR AWAY FROM THE CITY. VISITORS IT MAY BE HARD TO BELIEVE, BUT MOST OF THE WATER IS USED FOR RESIDENTIAL AREAS AND NOT HOTEL AND CASINOS. >> ALL THE HOTELS HERE ARE GOOD AT CONSERVATION, JUST ABOUT ALL THE WATER USED AT HOTELS LIKE THE BELLAGIO IS CAPTURED AWESOME TREAT AND REUSED OR SENT BACK TO LAKE MEAD. THEY HAVE CLEANED IT UP SO MUCH, THAT NOT ONLY DO THEY RECYCLE AND REUSE FOR LAS VEGAS PURPOSES AND HOMEOWNERS AND SURROUNDING AREAS, BUT THEY CAN PUT SOME BACK IN LAKE MEAD. WITH WATER-LEVELS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE MOVING TO THE AREA, CONSERVATION IS ON EVERYONE'S MIND, EVEN ROSE'S. >> WE HAD A GOOD WINTER AND CONSERVATION MEASURES FROM STATE AND PEOPLE LIKE ME ALT MY HOUSE, TAKING CARE OF MY WATER SUPPLY IS REALLY HELPING TO KEEP WATER IN LAKE MEAD AND KEEP THE LEVELS UP. >> WHAT IF THOSE LEVELS DON'T STAY UP? WHAT HAPPENS WITHOUT LAKE MEAD? >> I THINK LAKE MEAD WILL ALWAYS BE HERE. I THINK THERE ISN'T A CHANCE THAT LAKE MEAD IS EVER GOING TO GO AWAY. WE CONTINUE TO FACE CHALLENGES IN WATER ALLOCATION AND WITH WHILE THE CHANGE. WE'RE DOING A LOT OF STUDYING HOWS THAT HAS ALTERED THE WAY THE KNOW AND RAINS HAVE COME, BUT I DON'T THINK LAKE MEAD IS GOING ANYWHERE THE HOOVER DAM THE COLORADO RIVER TURNS SOUTH THROUGH LAUGHLIN, NEVADA, LAKE HAVASU AND ON TO YUMA. THAT IS WHERE ERIC IS HEADING NEXT TO SHOW YOU HOW THE COLORADO NOT ONLY PROVIDES WATER TO THE PEOPLE IN THIS AREA, BUT KEEPS FOOD ON YOUR TABLE RIGHT HERE IN COST. >> WITHOUT THAT WATER, THIS PLACE WOULD NOT GROW ANYTHING. IT'S A DESERT. . >>> HEY WELCOME BACK. WE'RE NOW IN YUMA ARIZONA NEAR THE END OF THE LINE FOR THE COLORADO RIVER'S U.S. JOURNEY. 80-85% OF VEGETABLES SOLD IN THE U.S. ARE GROWN IN THIS REGION, USING WATER FROM THE COLORADO RIVER. WHILE THIS LOOKS LIKE A GOOD DEAL OF WATER, IT COULD BE MORE. A COUPLE OF HOURS UP THE RIVER FROM HERE IN LAKE HAVASU, A LOT OF WATER IS REMOVED FROM THE RIVER AND SENT TO CITIES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AS WELL AS THE PHOENIX ARAB AND AS FAR AWAY AS TUCSON. THAT MAKES WHAT IS USED HERE FOR FARMING EVEN, NOR REGISTRATION. >> WITHOUT THAT WATER, THIS PLACE WOULD NOT GROW ANYTHING. IT'S A DESERT. >> MATT MCQWIRE IS THE GENERAL MANAGER OF JV FARMS INUMMA AND IT'S A YEAR-ROUND BUSINESS IN THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY. >> LETTUCE AND IN THE SPRING, MELOS. >> TO MAKE FARMING WORKED THEY HAVE DEVELOPED TECHNIQUES TO MAKE SURE THAT NONE OF THE WATER THAT THEY PULL IS WASTED HERE IS ONE WAY OF CONSERVING THAT PRECIOUS WATER. IT'S SOMETHING CALLED LASERRING WHERE FARMERS FLATTEN THE LAND, BY EITHER ADDING DIRT, OR SCRAPING IT AWAY. >> WE LASER-LEVEL THIS FIELD. THERE IS NO OUTLETS TO THIS FIELD. IT'S TABLE-TOP FLAT. IT'S HAS NO FALL ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. SO ANY WATER WE PUT ON THIS FIELD STAYS ON THIS FIELD. >> THEN THEY FLOOD IT. LIKE THIS. THIS FIELD HERE, THE WATER IS ABOUT .5" DEEP. >> WHAT HAPPENS YOU ARE KEEPING THE WATER IN THE ROOT ZONE. MUCH LIKE THIS ONE, THE DIFFERENCE IN THIS WATER WAS ONE CENTER METER. CENTIMETER. >> RIGHT NOW THE SNOW PACK IS EVERY EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE HEARD AND HERE HEAR IS ABOVE NORMAL. ONCE WE HAVE THE DROUGHT YEARS AND LAKE-LEVELS GO DOWN, AT CERTAIN LAKE-LEVELS THEY WOULD DECLARE A SHORTAGE ON THE RIVER. IT'S NEVER HAPPENED. >> A SHORTAGE MEANING THOSE WITH LOW PRIORITY WATER RIGHTS COULD GET CUTOFF, BUTTUMMA'S FARMERS HAVE SOME OF THE HIGHEST PRIORITY ON THE RIVER. >> WE HAVE OTHER INDUSTRIES, AND MILITARY IS BIG HERE, AND WE APPRECIATE THOSE BUSINESSES. BUT IT'S STILL AG THAT THE COUNTY, AND THE LOCAL POPULOUS IS VERY SUPPORTIVE. BECAUSE IT STILL DOES THE HEAVY LIFTING IN TERMS OF GDP AND ECONOMIC STABILITY. WITHOUT THE WATER, WE WOULDN'T HAVE A BUSINESS. >> JUST OUTSIDE OF YUMA THE RIVER FLOWS INTO MEXICO AND ON TO THE STARE OF CORTEZ. A LOT OF TIMES THE WATER DOESN'T MAKE IT THAT FAR, BUT THANK YOUS TO A TREATY SIGNED IN 1984 SOME OF THE WATER IS GUARANTEED TO GET THERE. >> IT'S A VALUE RESOURCE. WHILE THREE-QUARTERS THE PLANET IS COVERED IN WATER WE HAVE TO HAVE LAWS TO MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE IS USING TOO MUCH AND EVERYONE IS GETTING SOMETHING. FROM HIGH IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS OF COLORADO. TO THE HIGH MOUNTAIN DESERTS OF ARIZONA. THIS LAKE IS REALLY A LIFELINE AND, IN FACT, WATER IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE SOUTHWEST. >> IT KEEPS U.S. ALIVE. >> THIS HE VIVRE SO ICONIC AND SPECIAL IS TO COLORADO. >> IT'S ABOUT GETTING OUT AND ENJOYING OUTDOORS. >> WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PRESERVE THIS, SO THAT PEOPLE CAN KEEP COMING HERE. AND WHILE THE SNOW PACK FEEDING THAT SUPPLY CAN BE UNPREDICTABLE. >> EVEN AT LOW WATER WE HAVE AN INCREDIBLE RESOURCE. >> THE MEN AND WOMEN MANAGING THAT WATER SAY THEY ARE UP TO THE TASK. >> WE'RE THE REGULATING FORCE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE WATER IS DELIVERED EVERY YEAR AND SO FAR WE MISSIONED A YEAR IN DELIVERIES. >> THEY KNOW WHETHER FOR DRINKING OR RECREATION OR FARMING THE COMMODITY THAT THEY CONTROL IS THE MOST VALUABLE THING IN THE NATION. >> IT'S DEPENDENT ON PEOPLE FROM DOWNSTREAM AS WELL AS PEOPLE IN COLORADO AND LIKE IT OR NOT, WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. >> THANK FOR JOINING US ON THIS JOURNEY. WHETHER YOUWE ALL KNOW THAT THE COLORADO RIVER IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO THE WEST. >> WE LEARNED A LOT ALONG THIS LIFELINE OF THE COLORADO RIVER. FROM ALL OF THE US HERE AT DENVER 7, HAVE A GOOD ONE. >> WE'LL SEE YOU OUT ON THE RIVER!
