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U.S. says drought-stricken Arizona and Nevada will get less water from Colorado River

A formerly sunken boat sits high and dry along the shoreline of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, on May 10, near Boulder City, Nev. John Locher/AP hide caption

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John Locher/AP

Climate

U.S. says drought-stricken Arizona and Nevada will get less water from Colorado River

August 16, 2022 • U.S. officials announced Tuesday that the two states, which rely on water from the Colorado River, will face more water cuts as they endure extreme drought.

A fourth set of human remains is found at Lake Mead as the water level keeps dropping

Since May, authorities have now uncovered four sets of human remains at Lake Mead, as the country's largest reservoir deals with extremely low water levels. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

National

A fourth set of human remains is found at Lake Mead as the water level keeps dropping

August 8, 2022 • The reservoir continues to suffer from a 22-year drought that now has water levels at only 27% of capacity. That's surfaced four sets of skeletal remains in the past four months.

Climate Change Is Threatening The U.S. West's Water Supply

Lines mark previous water levels at the Hoover Dam on Lake Mead in Boulder City, Nevada, U.S., on Wednesday, June 16, 2021. The reservoir level at the Hoover Dam has plunged to its lowest since it was first filled in the 1930s. Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Short Wave

Climate Change Is Threatening The U.S. West's Water Supply

June 24, 2021 • The past year has been the driest or second driest in most Southwestern U.S. states since record-keeping began in 1895. Climate Correspondent Lauren Sommer reports that farms and cities have begun imposing water restrictions, but the water supply will shrink no matter what the weather brings. The supply spans tens of millions of people and the farmland that produces most of the country's fruits and vegetables. As a result, the people who manage the West's complex water systems are realizing that with climate change, they can no longer rely on the past to predict the future.

Climate Change Is Threatening The U.S. West's Water Supply

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What If The Drought Doesn't End? 'The Water Knife' Is One Possibility

Ariel Zambelich/NPR

Author Interviews

What If The Drought Doesn't End? 'The Water Knife' Is One Possibility

May 23, 2015 • It's Chinatown meets Mad Max in writer Paolo Bacigalupi's new desert dystopia, filled with climate refugees, powerful state border patrols, and secret agents called water knives.

What If The Drought Doesn't End? 'The Water Knife' Is One Possibility

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As Lake Mead Levels Drop, The West Braces For Bigger Drought Impact

Lake Mead is at its lowest levels since it was built in the late 1930s. Kirk Siegler/NPR hide caption

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Kirk Siegler/NPR

National

As Lake Mead Levels Drop, The West Braces For Bigger Drought Impact

April 17, 2015 • Near Las Vegas, levels in the nation's largest reservoir have dropped 140 feet since 2000. Water deliveries to Nevada, Arizona and California may soon be rationed — and farmers would feel it first.

As Lake Mead Levels Drop, The West Braces For Bigger Drought Impact

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