A Drought Trinity in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Residents of Colorado’s Grand Valley are profoundly lucky to nestle up to the Colorado River, and to receive our drinking water from the largest flattop mountain in the world, the Grand Mesa. However, the ability to drink, grow food and thrive in this arid landscape is dependent on the snowpack that blankets our high Rocky Mountain peaks and the regional climate more broadly. Warming temperatures that produce longer, more intense droughts are threatening our way of life, making it harder to manage water resources and plan for the future. The artwork created in this study reflects a 21st century perspective of natural water supplies in the Upper Colorado River Basin with a focus on three types of drought: meteorological, hydrological and snow.
Colorado Art + Science Environment CASE Fellows
Grand Junction
Artist + Scientist Team
CASE Fellow Artist - Grand Junction: TJ Smith
CASE Fellow Scientist - CU Boulder: Ben Livneh, Associate Professor • Joint Appointment with CIRES • Director, Western Water Assessment Hydrology, Water Resources & Environmental Fluid
How did the teams collaborate?
TJ Smith, CASE Fellow Artist
It was my role to take the research that Ben conducted and build a visual narrative that connects the viewer to the issues of drought and how that can impact their daily lives. Collaborating with Ben and others in my Grand Junction community has broadened my understanding about drought and how I can lessen my impact on the issue. It has informed me about the fragile ecosystem we depend on with such trust. The thought of a drier future is scary, however, that fear has empowered me to create art that highlights the issue with hope that others join for a better future.
My art focuses on three types of drought; meteorological, hydrological and snow. I explored texture, color and iconography to create a contrast between drought and saturation. The stark contrast is meant to emotionally bridge our water dependency to the threat of a drier Earth. I hope the impact of my art will lead to an improved relationship to our water sources and consumption. I have had a great experience and really enjoyed getting to know Ben.
Ben Livneh, CASE Fellow Scientist
It was refreshing to engage as a scientist on this project. Working with TJ helped me to see the bigger picture and to appreciate the different ways that art could be useful for communication. I felt like TJ was really interested in the scientific issues and ideas, and I felt comfortable exchanging ideas with him.
I learned that expressing ideas through art offers a unique avenue for communication that would be difficult or impossible to do in a solely-scientific medium. Providing a visual representation of ideas requires careful thought and difficult decisions about what to show, but it has the potential to make ideas easier to understand for a wider audience. Art offers the possibility to engage viewers' curiosity and raise awareness about the importance of how water availability may change. Both of these are meaningful outcomes. Overall, I had a very positive experience.
Art, Science, Place, and Community
Truth is, we all need water. The west is especially sensitive to drought and the impacts a lack of water has on our communities. With a warming climate and prolonged drought in our future, we are stuck on a path of more hardship when it comes to our water needs. The artwork in this series explores three areas of drought: meteorological, hydrological and snow. Each acts as a warning sign for the world that may one day be our reality. With water in the west on a constant decline we must all act and make efforts to lessen our usage so that future generations have the same water access that we do.
In an art + science workshop we explored the contrast of some of our favorite local places with and without water. We examined those feelings of low water and created art that contrasted those feelings with ones of high water. It gave a chance for people to reflect on the issues at hand and openly discuss their fears and hopes for what is to come. Overall participants walked away with more insights into what they can do to minimize water usage and appreciate what we do have in the desert valley.
Environmental and Social Issues Explored
Western states have among the most widely known and over-allocated rivers in the world, the mighty Colorado River, once known as the Grand river. Many communities and Tribal Nations living in the Intermountain West, in the Upper Colorado River Basin use the river for drinking water, agriculture, outdoor recreation, municipalities, hydropower generation. Grand Junction is among those communities and the one TJ Smith lives in. Living in Grand Junction has deepened his understanding water needs. The Colorado River level is a general topic of discussion in the area. As residents say, “When it’s low we know”.
Science Integrated into the Artwork
Drought in the Colorado River basin is the focus of this artwork. At its most basic level, drought is simply a lack of water, which can have far-reaching impacts on communities and ecosystems. Several categories of drought are relevant to this artwork. The condition of abnormally low precipitation is termed ‘meteorological drought’ and tends to be the first sign of more prolonged drought conditions to come. A direct cause of low precipitation can be the lack of surface water and runoff, termed ‘hydrological drought’, which directly impacts inflows into reservoirs. Finally, ‘snow drought’ is of importance here, since it describes low snow conditions, which may be due to low precipitation or to high temperatures, which can be disruptive for winter sports, economies, and snow-adapted species. Any projections for warmer or drier climate conditions will exacerbate the impacts from these types of drought.
What you can do to address this issue
Coping with drought requires knowledge, creativity, and dedicated resources. Below are some simple habit shifts for bettering your relationship to water:
•Find out where your water comes from.
• Turn off the water when brushing teeth, shaving, etc.
• Plant native species and limit water hogging turf.
• Shorten your shower by 2 minutes, and/or stager the frequency.
• Remember the importance of water and your need for it.
• Be mindful of your energy usage–water is both directly and indirectly needed to generate energy.
Collaborators and participants:
Morgan Rossway - Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator - Colorado Canyons Association, Joel Sholtes - River Scientist, Engineer, and Civil Engineering Asst. Teaching Professor
