US issues western water cuts as drought leaves Colorado River near ‘tipping point’ | US news | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/16/drastic-water-cuts-expected-as-megadrought-grips-western-us-statesAfter western US states failed to reach agreements to reduce water use from the beleaguered Colorado River, the federal government stepped in on Tuesday, issuing cuts that will affect two states and Mexico.
Officials with the Bureau of Reclamation declared a “tier 2” shortage in the river basin as the drought continues to pummel the American west, pushing its largest reservoirs to new lows. The waning water levels, which have left dramatic bathtub rings in reservoirs and unearthed buried bodies and other artifacts, continue to threaten hydroelectric power production, drinking water, and agricultural production.
“The system is approaching a tipping point,” the Bureau of Reclamation commissioner, M Camille Calimlim Touton, said during a news conference on Tuesday, adding that urgent action was required. “Protecting the system means protecting the people of the American west.”
The new cuts will reduce Arizona’s water share by 21%, Nevada’s by 8% and Mexico’s by 7%, but officials are concerned more reductions will be needed. The cuts will place officials in those states under extraordinary pressure to plan for a hotter, drier future and a growing population.
The Colorado River provides water to 40 million people across seven states in the American west as well as Mexico and helps feed an agricultural industry valued at $15bn a year. The sprawling system provides water to Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, California, Nevada and Arizona before it flows into Mexico.
A ‘bathtub ring’ is visible at the Lake Mead reservoir due to the western drought, as seen from the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River at the Nevada and Arizona state border.