n the state. Today it is called Owens Dry Lake because it was sucked dry by Los Angeles. Today The U.S. Environment Protection Agency considers it the most polluted area in the nation (Simon 22). On dry days the wind blows particulate matter from the dry lake as far as fifty miles making the air twenty times as high as the maximum safety standards for air pollution. Another example of misuse of water in this region involves The Colorado River. Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming signed an agreement in 1922. Ratified by the federal government, the Colorado River Compact allocated a specific number of acre-feet of water to the nine participating states. There is no question that the Colorado River is significantly over allocated. The river provides water for more that 20 million people and irrigates more than 1 million acres. In 1997 California was forced to use twice as much of there allocated 4.4 million acre-feet. The river once flowed plentifully with fresh water to the sea. Now after the water is divided to the participating states the water doesn’t always get to the ocean, and when it does it has become loaded with pesticides and salination. Similar problems have happened in Florida. In 1993 the Florida Bay suddenly became dead. The reason, the high concentrations on fertilizer and pesticides among other chemicals flowing from large agricultural developments especially sugar plantations (Challand 134). This along with manipulation of traditional sources of freshwater are believed to be responsible for the collapse of the bay’s ecosystem. The problems are not just in the lakes, rivers or oceans. We are also seeing our environment being seriously compromised by traditional ground and surface water withdrawals. The use of ground water is almost entirely unmonitored and uncontrolled in many states across the country. Even Michigan has problems with their water. Although Mi...
