Renewable Revolution

Jul 15, 2021




The U.S. federal government may soon declare a first-ever water shortage in the Colorado River basin by 2022 at the latest. Declaring a water shortage would mean having mandatory water cuts in the Lower Basin States as two reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, have hit record lows after a 21 year decline in the water levels. The Colorado River, which flows through these states, is more than 1,400 miles long and serves about 40 million people across the West.

Farmers and Indigenous tribal nations have been hit the hardest by the lower water levels after years of struggling to secure their share of the river's water. But residents out West don't just get drinking water from the Colorado River, it also powers hydroelectric dams. That includes the Hoover Dam, which produces roughly 4 billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectric power which is enough to serve 1.3 million people.

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