U.S. Western State Face First Federal Water Cuts

[RAMROD 117,276]

U.S. officials on Monday declared the first-ever water shortage from a river that serves 40 million people in the West, triggering cuts to some Arizona farmers next year amid a gripping drought.

Water levels at the largest reservoir on the Colorado River — Lake Mead — have fallen to record lows. Along its perimeter, a white “bathtub ring” of minerals outlines where the high water line once stood, underscoring the acute water challenges for a region facing a growing population and a drought that is being worsened by hotter, drier weather brought on by climate change.
 

Lake Mead was formed by building the Hoover Dam in the 1930s. It is one of several man-made reservoirs that store water from the Colorado River, which supplies household water, irrigation for farms and hydropower to Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and parts of Mexico.
 

In the U.S., Arizona will be hardest hit and lose 18% of its share from the river next year, or 512,000 acre-feet of water. That’s around 8% of the state’s total water use.

An acre-foot is enough water to supply one to two households a year.

Nevada will lose about 7% of its allocation, or 21,000 acre-feet of water. But it will not feel the shortage largely because of conservation efforts.

California is spared from immediate cuts because it has more senior water rights than Arizona and Nevada.

Mexico will see a reduction of roughly 5%, or 80,000 acre-feet.
 

Farmers in central Arizona, who are among the state’s largest producers of livestock, dairy, alfalfa, wheat and barley, will bear the brunt of the cuts. Their allocation comes from water deemed “extra” by the agency that supplies water to much of the region, making them the first to lose it during a shortage.
 

The Central Arizona Project, which supplies water to Arizona’s major cities, will no longer bank river water or replenish some groundwater systems next year because of the cuts.
Cities such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tucson, and Native American tribes are shielded from the first round of cuts.

 

Source:

https://apnews.com/article/business-health-environment-and-nature-climate-change-89ff76829e3a3c7ed514320e9a40df8f
 

Arizona, y'all in danger, Gurl!!

[ThisGuyTony 35,108]

The water situation is getting so bad. Especially when I see so much water waste daily.

[TimisaMonster 31,073]

Extreme drought and fires around the world (Canada, US, Australia, etc) and extreme floods in others (Germany, China, etc)...global warming is just gonna get worse 

[Evan Peters 10,776]

doesn't feel like it with the constant ****ing storms in az lol. i suppose it was a long time coming though

[PartySick 173,004]

Ah, ah. The first of many 

[reysus 1,064]

"[California] has more senior water rights than Arizona" I understand it but holy what kind of dystopian statement 

it's crazy that arizona is still viewed as this party place and a great place to move to for cheap housing and decent jobs and whatnot, but like theyre literally running out of a fundamental building block of life. 

it's not gonna be pretty when americans (myself included, but I like to think to a lesser extent) are confronted with the harsh realities of excess consumption. probably won't be for a while still tho, for the rich at least