Winter. the may measurement was no snow. as temperatures warm in the spring, that snow melts off, runs downstream, and ends up providing about 30% of the state s water needs. at least that is what should happen. climate change is accelerating in alarming ways. and faster than scientist predicted even 10 or 20 years ago. and that means we have to move very quickly. reporter: the drought is more broadly apparent at lake meade. the nation s largest reservoir which supplies water to some 40 million people across seven states and mexico. the water line has dropped so low in the lake that it s exposed a water intake valve in service since 1971. the southern nevada water authority activating a near low lake pumping station to still be able to access water for its customers. coming on line is also a symbol of how serious the situation is on the colorado river right now. reporter: while the cuts are frustrating to some to kill everything that we ve got, it s ridiculous. reporter:
Rainfall before it has a chance to make its way down to reservoirs and ground water. and i mentioned there in the intro lake powell, i mean, some experts fear the huge reservoir could possibly run out of water, and lake immediate, the country s largest reservoir, you mentioned that drought of 2012 to 2016, i covered that out there, been out to see how, you know, it had reached historically low levels. well, now things are even worse, i mean, so low at lake immediate that it revealed a water intake valve. that s really a dramatic illustration of the problem that will effect millions and millions of people across the west. is it a realistic fear that some taps could actually run dry? i think probably not. most of the urban areas are pretty well prepared, they ve thought about these issues for a long time, so, for most people, i think they ll probably find a way to scoot around it, moving water back and forth with some of the reservoirs in the colorado river so the intake
Crisis is impacting our lives out here in the west. but you can see it with this mega-drought dragging on and on. there s now something tang blg y able you can look at. look at this water intake valve inside of lake mead. it was put into commission in 1971. this valve is standing above the water line. seeing this was going to happen, the southern nevada water authority went ahead and put another intake valve that is now situated need the bottom of lake mead in place. they started working in 2015 and completed it in 2020 because they saw that this was going to happen. and this is how people in southern nevada, some 2.2 million people get their water in that region. so, this is obviously very important. and when you look at the rings of lake mead, you can see how much it has dwindled, all because there has not been