welcome back. date download time. this week the federal government announced more emergency water cuts for states as well as our neighbor to the south along the colorado river. arizona and nevada as well as parts of mexico will be required to significantly reduce their watering usage from the colorado river in 2023. now, it is hard to overstate the importance of the colorado river basin in the southwest. serves 40 million people. look at the annual economic activity it generates. 1.4 trillion. but we re in the middle of a 23-year mega drought as well, which is contributing to a low level of water all along the colorado river basin. it is as dry there now as it has been in the last 100 years. right now we are at dangerously low levels here. the near high was about 20 years ago, near 1,200 feet there. let me put this in perspective.
lee weez would like to help their families by working in the restaurant business. the bus pulls away. each passenger we talked to saying they appreciate getting the air conditioned bus ride to what they hope is a much better road ahead. if you were driving your car from here to washington, d.c. and going at a good clip and at some point the speed limit is 85 miles per hour you d maybe it in about 25 hours. this bus goes slowly, they make a lot of stops so they allow about 40 hours. we were here with that bus and those people yesterday, so it s expected to arrive in the nation s capitol sometimes tomorrow morning. anderson? gary tuckman, thank you. the southwest expecting heavy rain this weekend. it won t be the relief needed for a long-term mega drought as many states are being expected to cut their water. bill weir is in arizona for us where they are bracing for the