Chasing Water

In Chasing Water, photojournalist Peter McBride sets out to document the flow of the Colorado River from source to sea. A Colorado native, McBride hails from a ranching family that depends on the Colorado for irrigation, and this is the story of his backyard. His simple desire is to find out where the irrigation water of his youth went after his family used it, and how long it took the water to reach the ocean. His experience, however, is not so straightforward, analogous, perhaps, to tracking down a special friend from childhood—one who was always full of vitality—only to find her utterly changed and diminished. Writer John Waterman joins McBride on this 1,500-mile journey, one that shows how the thirst of the 30 million that the Colorado supports takes a unhealthy toll.