Omni film depicts depleting water resources

By Danilynn Welniak/ne news editor

Planet Earth is running out of clean, fresh water so fast that the United Nations estimates 40 percent of the world could face life-threatening shortages by the year 2050.

In an attempt to raise global awareness about the depleting water supply, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History’s Omni Theater presents Grand Canyon Adventure: River At Risk with a score composed by the Dave Matthews Band. It is currently playing and will continue through this summer.

Accompanying audiences on this rafting trip through the Grand Canyon and along the Colorado River are two world-renowned environmental advocates: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a river restoration expert; and Wade Davis, an anthropologist and author. Their two daughters, Kick Kennedy and Tara Davis, who accompany them on this journey, learn that the river is more than just water. It is a moving rite of passage.

The river guide is Shana Watahomigie, a member of the Havasupai tribe and the first Native American to become a National Park Ranger and river guide.

“It was only three years ago that I was chosen to be a river ranger,” she said. “And I can see a big difference in [the water supply].”

The central problem is the result of human consumption, wasting water from pipe breaks to massive gardens in Las Vegas that do not belong, constant evaporation and the overwhelming Tamarisk weed population that absorbs millions of gallons of water, Watahomigie said.

The giant-screen film combines intense river-rafting action on one of America’s most well-known rivers with the grandeur of the Grand Canyon. It relays to the audience how ordinary people can make a huge difference for the planet.

Shot in four weeks mainly on the Colorado River, this production took the 300-pound 3-D IMAX camera through its paces and involved the cooperation of three Indian nations, the National Park Service, Teva and its team of champion kayakers and more than a dozen experienced river guides.

This expedition represents the last major film production of its magnitude in the canyon because of new protective restrictions on the number of crew members and equipment allowed.

Watahomigie said that production crews are not the only ones affected by the new laws.

“If someone wanted to raft on the Colorado River with a private group, the current waiting list is 15 to 20 years,” she said.

Tickets for Grand Canyon Adventure are available by phone at 817-255-9540, online at www.fortworthmuseum.org or at the Omni Theater ticket office. Tickets are $7 for adults and $6 for children and seniors. For showtimes, log on to www.fortworthmuseum.org.