Las Vegas Sun

April 23, 2024

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Alfalfa crops are a waste of water

With its large water right from the Colorado River, the Imperial Irrigation District in Southern California currently grows about 141,000 acres of alfalfa, a large irrigation water-using crop.

The amount of water used — over 600,000 acre-feet per year — is about 100,000 acre-feet more than the drought is taking from Lake Mead each year.

The alfalfa is sold to China, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.

Why are river water users suffering a water shortage while we are sending all this water to other countries? Why can’t some smart people figure out a better arrangement?