Millions of people in the southwestern u.s. are bracing for water shortages as reservoirs continue to dry up. the climate change-induced water crisis is now also triggering a potential energy crisis. cnn s camila bernal has details. reporter: evidence of this mega drought is becoming easier to see, and in particular in lake mead which provides drinking water for more than 25 million people. if you look at these images you re going to see that original valve put in in 1971, it sits above the water. officials realized this was going to be a problem in 2015. they started building a new valve that goes deeper into lake mead. that s being used right now. it went into operation this week. it appears to be running smoothly. people are still getting their drinking water. it goes to show how big of a problem this is. because water levels are just
Food. that s as communities in ethiopia that rely on staples like grain. relief groups say humanitarian need in ethiopia and the horn of africa becoming more dire as war in europe and the global climate crisis converge in one of the most vulnerable areas of the world. al millions here in the southwestern united states are bracing for water shortages as reservoirs continue to dry up. cnn s camila bernal has our details. reporter: evidence of this mega drought is becoming easier to see. and in particular in lake mead which provides drinking water for more than 25 million people. if you look at these images you re going to see that original valve put in in 1971, it sits above the water.
The evidence of this mega drought in this region. in particular in lake mead which provides drinking water for more than 25 million people. the water levels are so low that its original valve put in in 1971 now sits above the water. so officials knew this was going to happen and in 2015 they started building a new valve that would go deeper. and that is what is in operation right now. it started operating this weekend, they say that things are going as planned, people are still getting their drinking water. but the thing is that this highlights the problem and how big this problem is, how low the water is. not just in lake mead, but in many of the lakes and resident vois reservoirs in the region. and california as a whole. so beginning june 1, at least 6 million people will be impacted because they are being told to only water their lawns once a week. and as we mentioned, it could get worse. that is what the metropolitan water district of southern california told us.
All right, throughout the west and southwest of this country, one of the worst droughts in decades is sparking concern as head of fire season. and as water levels drop in area reservoirs, some officials are concerned of a potential energy crisis for millions would rely on dams for power. cnn s camilla bernal joining us live from california with the latest on this. so you re in sylmar, california, in front of a section of the los angeles aqueduct. so just how bad is this water crisis right now? reporter: well, officials are telling me, look, we are running out of water here in southern california. it is bad no matter how you look at it. and you could see the evidence of this mega drought all throughout the region. but in particular, in lake mead which provides water for more than 25 million people. it is original valve put in in 1971 is now sitting above the