Colorado River Water Crisis

The Colorado River supplies water and hydropower to seven U.

S. states, Mexico, and tens of millions of people, but prolonged drought, warming, reduced snowpack, and demand have pushed the system into persistent imbalance. Falling levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell affect electricity generation, agricultural production, and municipal supplies, while negotiations over allocation rules pit upper-basin and lower-basin interests against one another. The subject also includes federal shortage planning, conservation agreements, reservoir operations, and the broader question of how the Southwest can manage a river whose historical allocations exceed dependable flows.