The Colorado River is tapped out.
Another dry year has left the watershed that supplies 40 million people in the Southwest parched. A prolonged 21-year warming and drying trend is pushing the nation s two largest reservoirs to record lows. For the first time, a shortage is expected to be declared by the federal government, this summer.
The 1,450-mile-long waterway acts as a drinking water supply, a hydroelectric power generator and an irrigator of desert crop fields across seven Western U.S. states and two in Mexico. Scientists are increasingly certain that the only way forward is to rein in demands on the river s water.
What the megadrought means to the American West cbsnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cbsnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Waterparks and fountains in Las Vegas: A closer look at where water is going amid the drought
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and last updated 2021-07-16 20:25:59-04
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) Despite being in the midst of the longest sustained drought we ve ever seen, and on the verge of a federally declared water shortage, every day in Las Vegas water is used for play.
The valley is home to not one but two waterparks. Cowabunga Bay and Wet n Wild provide relief from the sweltering heat for hundreds of thousands of locals and tourists every summer.
And it s not just mega-slides and lazy rivers where we get our water fix. Water plays a recreational role on the Las Vegas Strip, too. Many casinos have multiple pools or fountains, perhaps the most obvious and grandiose example being at the Bellagio.
Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, has been hit hard by warming temperatures and downstream demands.
The Colorado River is tapped out.
Another dry year has left the waterway that supplies 40 million people in the Southwest parched. A prolonged 21-year warming and drying trend is pushing the nation’s two largest reservoirs to record lows. For the first time this summer, the federal government will declare a shortage.
Climate change is exacerbating the current drought. Warming temperatures are upending how the water cycle functions in the Southwest. The 1,450-mile long river acts as a drinking water supply, a hydroelectric power generator, and an irrigator of crop fields across seven Western states and two in Mexico. Scientists say the only way forward is
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