40 Million People Rely on the Colorado River, and Now It's Drying Up

what a mess what an absolute mess i mean each time you say oh this is different than it was what's it going to be like in october what's gonna be like next april there isn't a lot about the colorado river that jack schmidt doesn't know he's been making research trips on it for decades but he's never seen the river this low look at this yeah you used to be able to back a truck in here right into the water is this new this year essentially yeah it's happened within the past six months i am stunned by how horrible this is the colorado is the lifeline of the american southwest it runs nearly 1500 miles supplying water and electricity to seven states in mexico some 40 million people rely on its resources but 20 years of drought made worse by climate change have brought things to a moment of crisis this part of the river was once the upper end of lake powell one of the two main reservoirs lake powell filled for the first time in 1980 that concrete ramp was filled with houseboats people backing in motor boats people water skiing and now look at that essentially 1999 2000 was the last time the water was up at the base of that concrete ramp and now it's lower than it's ever been since it filled it's not only powell lake mead the river's other major reservoir above the hoover dam is only about a third full unless things change which they won't this month officials will declare a tier one shortage for the first time ever that means next year major cutbacks are coming starting with arizona farmers when that happens a lot of farms will look like nancy k woods she relies on water from another river a tributary to the colorado but it got so low she was totally cut off in april so this out here just looking at this i mean is this take a look is this dead now well we don't think it's going to green back up what were you growing here alfalfa see the seed lines and how it's just all dead [Music] our dam has no water we have no water period [Music] so this is my granddad and he bought the farm in about 1930 and here he's in the 40s and he's listing a field getting ready to plant cotton it's an amazing photo it's about the only picture i have of him on the farm and this is our family um this was out in a cotton field it's really hot everybody squinting it was in august what i'm struck by looking at this picture you said it's august but you're standing in a bright green field beautiful green and it's right over where that dead alfalfa is isn't that gorgeous and that was taken in 2019 i feel like we've been talking about this moment as a future thing for a long time this idea that there's going to be a time when we have to reduce water usage we have to we have to pay attention to that but being out here it feels like that moment's here it's here here we are and there's no turning back no right now the population is not going to feel affected farmers are going to feel it does that create a little bit of a divide where farmers are in this place where you're well you're taking the bear to me yeah you know uh yeah i think it does there's a big push for land development here encouraging industry to come in here you know new businesses which means more homes and as that happens they're going to be using water just like we are the decisions over who loses water first were largely made back in 2019 as part of a drought contingency agreement between the states that used the river it took six years to work out and was set to expire in seven that means negotiators are already starting to worry about how they'll do it all again with many states still trying to build new pipelines and developments and even less water to go around tom bushotzky is responsible for making arizona's case and navigating all of these tensions starting with the job contingency plan discussions in 2018 and 2019 we have been talking about climate change and the hotter and drier future really putting that point out there to the water users that we have to be prepared for that and i think a lot of what's going on with the colorado river is the hotter drier future's already here and it might get a little bit worse is it fair that farmers who ostensibly are doing something that's sort of essential growing food for us to live that they're having to cut back when other people are watering their lawns and not having to limit their shower length that is a debate that has been growing but the way the legal priority system works for water supplies the farmers have that lower priority than the cities do you think as this gets harder over the coming years that the interstate negotiations are going to get trickier so the harder it is in your state the harder it will be between the states so the answer is clearly yes to that question it remains to be seen what will happen i know that we collectively will negotiate something we will what it's going to be i don't know when it's going to be i don't know but failure is not an option it is because otherwise mother nature is going to take over there are no easy answers for this are there there are not and in water there never are [Music] do you think we're at a critical point i think we're at a point where the old ways will not suit us going forward so we are at a political critical point where we need to really have hard-nosed talks about where is the best place to use water to do the best good for human society we have lived with the imagination that there is more water to develop and so we can increase development and it won't hurt anybody but it is a zero-sum game there's not any more extra water to develop [Music] hoover dam was the first major dam of its kind that was built and at the time it was built it was the largest in the world it impounded lake mead and downstream agriculture was the primary reason that it was built we just recently passed a historic low in lake mead it's now at the lowest level that it's been since it filled in the 1930s in 2000 lake mead was at about 95 which was about 15 feet below that walkway right now just 20 so years ago 2000. wow that's kind of impossible to picture right now standing here it's dramatic do you expect it'll get back to that point we need at least four or more years of consecutive good runoff into the upper basin good snowpack for the reservoirs to be able to rebound completely can you talk me through what these structures are these are intake towers water goes in spins a turbine which spins a generator and creates hydropower which goes out to all of these power lines that you see that's how las vegas is lit up at night las vegas is lit up at night and arizona and california also receive power from hoover dam i'm waiting to feel my ears pop we produce our own power these are little generators there's one on the nevada side too and this is the power for the damage itself the way it works as the reservoir level is high there's more pressure pushing the water in to the pipes to the turbines as it lowers there's less pressure is there a lower limit to how little water there can be in here for them to still work elevation 950 is the lowest that we'd be able to go and still produce hydropower the water level at lake mead is currently around 1067 feet so if the water level gets below 950 this dam will no longer really function as a generator of power that is true but we don't anticipate that happening right is it a little despairing for you to come out and see it's concerning i mean all of us are concerned but i also have a lot of faith in the people that are working on the problem you

Channel: VICE News

Views: 1,547,596

Rating: 4.843996 out of 5

Keywords: VICE News, VICE News Tonight, VICE on HBO, news, vice video, VICE on SHOWTIME, vice news 2020, colorado river, lake mead, climate change, water shortage

Id: 5CADLfXOhkU

Length: 9min 24sec (564 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 14 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/Magicman2012]

farmers don't have water but I bet all those AZ golf courses still do

He is right y'know

[u/sampaggregator]

SS/The video informs: Twenty years of drought made worse by climate change, have brought things to a moment of crisis for the Colorado River. This month for the first time ever, officials will declare a Tier 1 shortage for Lake Mead, one of the two main reservoirs above the Hoover Dam. That means major cutbacks are coming next year -- starting with Arizona farmers.

[u/alexkubitz]

Yet people keep watering their lawns as normal, washing their cars, emptying and refilling their pools!

[u/lastofthe1st]

You know….

The past year has told me a lot about our country. And when this water situation gets more dire as a result of selfish usage, I’m truly not going to be surprised if you start seeing interstate skirmishes over the water supply. I don’t think the situation will warrant being that serious, but a lot of the people who live in those areas are heavily armed and constantly looking for scapegoats for their troubles.

[u/GrootyGang]

This is what collapse looks like.

[u/Tough_Technician5889]

You, Americans reap what you sow. How the hell can you deny climate change while living in places like this?

[u/wtfplane2]

looks like the last days of plant life on mars.

[u/Harmacc]

Lake Meade lady had that serious hopium.

[u/xXSoulPatchXx]

I am seriously going to start a copy/paste doc for this sub:

Leave the West and Southwest now.