Drought
The incredible pictures of a depleted Lake Mead, on the California-Nevada border,
illustrate the effects of drought brought on by climate change. Later this year, the US government will almost certainly declare the first-everwater shortage along the Colorado River. Maps show more than a quarter of the US is in "exceptional drought," underscoring the scope of a decades-long dry- out.
Stories are popping up across the West of possible rationing, coming restrictions, and looming standoffs between farmers and the government over the most precious natural resource.
States like Arizona and Nevada are almost guaranteed to have their
water allotment from the Colorado River cut back, which through a complicated
drought contingency tier system agreed to by states in 2019 will affect farmers
first. But the warning signs are there for urban areas and surrounding states to
conserve and evolve.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, served by a different water system, residents are being asked to reduce water usage by 15% compared to 2019.
Houseboats were removed from the state's second-largest reservoir because the water level fell so low. The hydropower plant at the same reservoir may be forcedoffline for the first time because of low water.
Standoff
To the north, there's a sharp disagreement in Oregon between farmers
cut off from water to irrigate their potatoes and federal officials trying to save an
endangered species of fish.
When CNN's Lucy Kafanov reported from the Klamath Basin last week, she did her live shot from the parched bottom of a lake that should be feet deep.
The farmers set up shop in a tent outside the canal headgate and were all but threatening to break in and open the gates themselves, like they did 20 years ago.
Lake Meade
The most visible and striking effect of the heat and drought is at Lake Mead, which
is at its lowest levels since it was filled during construction of the Hoover Dam in
the 1930s.
Less snowpack and more evaporation from hot temperatures have taken their toll over the course of decades to the point where its dropped more than 140 feet since 2000 and sits at not much more than a third of its capacity.
It’s time to pull the plug
And while all this happens with no end in sight, the town wastes drinking water to make a 9-hole golf course green. They waste water while they tell us to conserve. It’s time to pull the plug!
