Reclamation: Deadpool by Richard Boutwell

Issue 162

Mark Twain may have said, "Whiskey is for drinking, and water for fighting over." But during a presentation to 1893 irrigation conference John Wesley Powell said it more clearly: “You are piling up a heritage of conflict and litigation over water rights, for there is not sufficient water to supply the land.” The Colorado River has been the center of that struggle for over 100 years. To coincide with the 100th anniversary of the 1922 Colorado River Compact, my ongoing multi-part project, Reclamation, examines the history and future of the Colorado River and settlement in the Southwest.

Part one, Deadpool, focuses on documenting the changes at the nation's largest reservoir, Lake Mead, and uses the bathtub ring, the 160'-180' tall white mineral deposit left by the declining lake elevation, as a symbol for the inescapable reality of the accelerating impacts of climate change.

Underling this project are Powell's recommendations for how to structure the settlement in the arid regions and late 19th and early 20th-century politicians' willingness to ignore science and the reality of how much water the Colorado River could supply. The project links the long history and almost supernatural draw of the Southwest, how 20th-century reclamation projects made living there possible, and how climate change now threatens the future of the 40 million people dependent on the Colorado river for water and power.

Richard Boutwell lives and works in Collingswood, New Jersey.
richardboutwell.com | @richardboutwell