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Newsletter
colorado river agriculture water drought

Deal is reached to keep Colorado River from going dry, for now

Arizona, California and Nevada have agreed to take less water from the drought-strained Colorado River, a breakthrough agreement that, for now, keeps the river from falling so low that it would jeopardize water supply for major Western cities like Phoenix and Los Angeles as well as for some of America’s most productive farmland.

Colorado River, Glen Canyon & Lake Powell silting

Dale Maharidge: The Colorado River is running dry, but nobody wants to talk about the mud

It’s time to drill holes in Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River and empty Lake Powell.
Newsletter
energy drought hydropower climate

It’s not just the dams: The Western drought is threatening the entire energy sector

The consequences of water shortages are playing out now in swaths of the American West, where an expansive, decades-long drought is forcing drastic cuts in hydroelectric power generation.

Lakes Mead and Powell and biggest Western drought in history
Don Barrett/Flickr

DRIED UP: Lakes Mead and Powell are at the epicenter of the biggest Western drought in history

Nowhere is the Southwest’s worst drought since the year 800 more evident than Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the pair of artificial Colorado River reservoirs whose plunging levels threaten major water and power sources for tens of millions of people.

Colorado River water crisis

Daniel Rothberg: The coming crisis along the Colorado River

Overuse and climate change will mean sharp cuts in water use.
See how far water levels in Lake Mead have fallen

See how far water levels in Lake Mead have fallen

New satellite images of the reservoir, a critical source of water for 25 million people, reveal dangerously low water levels.
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