With first-ever Colorado River shortage almost certain, states stare down mandatory cutbacks
The Colorado River’s biggest reservoirs are likely to drop to historically low levels later this year, prompting mandatory conservation by some of the river’s heaviest users. The latest Bureau of Reclamation reservoir projections, which take into account river flows in a given year, show a likelihood that Lake Mead on the Arizona-Nevada stateline will dip below the critical threshold of 1,075 feet in elevation in May and remain below that level for the foreseeable future. A first-ever official shortage declaration from the Department of the Interior is almost certain later this year.
Related articles:
- CNN: As a megadrought persists, new projections show a key Colorado River reservoir could sink to a record low later this year
- U.S. News and World Report: US West Prepares for Possible 1st Water Shortage Declaration
- John Fleck at Inkstain: Lake Mead likely to drop below elevation 1,040 by late 2023
- Las Vegas Sun: As climate change takes hold, the need to combat global warming only builds
- Mountain Town News: It’s not drought, but what do we call it?
