Lake Mead water shortage: The shocking numbers behind the crisis msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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So let’s do some history first. When did hydrologists first start warning people that the Colorado River didn’t have as much water as they wanted it to have?
This goes all the way back to the early 20th century when we were first planning dams and canals for the farms and the cities, and there were hydrologists who warned that the Colorado River was subject to some really deep droughts that could last a long time. The work was generally ignored in favor of more optimistic estimates that allowed us to build bigger dams and bigger cities and larger farming communities. The science was inconvenient, so it was shoved aside, as we have often seen happen with the history of water in the Western United States.
As Lake Mead drops below shortage mark, shifting shorelines keep marinas in motion Ian James, Arizona Republic
LAKE MEAD, Nevada People who fish for striped bass and catfish in Lake Mead are seeing their favorite stretches of shoreline transform around them.
The reservoir near Las Vegas has been dropping week after week, reshaping the moist, sandy ground where anglers cast their lines into the lapping water.
“Every week, it’s further and further,” said Stephen D’Agostino, who was fishing with a friend on the shore. He motioned to a pile of rocks about 40 feet from the water and said that was where the lake had been two months ago.
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Arizona s lakes are some of the most unique bodies of water in the United States. Spread across the entire state, they run the gamut from reservoirs in the desert to flooded canyons to high altitude gems sparkling in the clear mountain air. Recreation opportunities abound and include pleasure boating, swimming, fishing, waterskiing, wakeboarding, and stand up paddleboarding.
Some of the best lakes in Arizona tend to be close to major population centers, so getting to them is easy and quick, which is a real bonus on a blazing hot summer day. Facilities are very good in most cases - you ll generally find marinas; campgrounds; and even in the most remote locations, an outfitter renting boats or other watercraft.
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The numbers show Lake Mead is likely to drop below 1075 (one thousand seventy-five) feet in elevation later this year. That triggers a “Tier 1” shortage under the rules of the Drought Contingency Plan.
Arizona takes the brunt of the shortage, losing more than five hundred thousand acre-feet of water, or about a third of the Central Arizona Project’s supply. The canal brings water to Tucson and Phoenix, but the cuts will largely affect farmers.
The Colorado River is currently in “Tier Zero” status, which requires Arizona to leave nearly two hundred-thousand-acre feet of water in Lake Mead.
A joint statement from the Central Arizona Project and Arizona Department of Water Resources says the state is prepared for the cuts, because “water users have been working collaboratively for many years to protect our Colorado River water supply.”