The United Nations Environment Programme warned on Tuesday that the supply of fresh water and electricity in six states and Mexico could be in danger because of dangerously low levels of the two largest reservoirs in the US.
The Colorado River's man-made lakes are currently at their lowest levels ever due to an ongoing dry spell.
The Colorado River basin in the American West has been so dry for more than two decades that we are no longer talking of a droughts. A new, very dry normal is referred to asaridification.
Due to overconsumption and an outdated agreement, the river is struggling. In Arizona, California, Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada and New Mexico, the water comes from the reservoirs.
Lake Powell is at risk of becoming a dead pool if conditions don't improve Millions of people in the western U.S. rely on the power provided by the hydroelectric dams.
There will be a 20-year period of dry conditions with an ever-increasing demand for water. It is the perfect storm in the Lake Powell area.
US officials have been concerned about the falling water levels. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee was told in June that it would need to reduce water deliveries to maintain critical levels.
The general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority said at the Senate hearing that the moment of truth is near.
The bodies of three dead people have recently been exposed due to the decline in the water levels in the lake.
Water use restrictions are in place. Emergency water curtailments were instituted by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Unusually bad wildfire seasons are one of the effects of the dry spell in the west.
Climate scientists say there will be more disruptions to the water cycle as a result of rising global temperatures.
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