reservoir in water capacity and can hold 9.3 trillion gallons of water, a level not seen since 1999. Lake Mead, a reservoir held by the Hoover Dam and located between Nevada and Arizona, is the largest U.S. The Colorado River system is down to 34 percent capacity, another drop from its 40 percent capacity last year. Pictures taken from far above the planet show drastic water level drops in Lake Mead and Lake Powell and the tell-tale "bathtub rings" on canyon walls, which illustrate that water levels were dozens feet higher in just the past few years. Part of the severity of this 'mega-drought' has been worsened by climate change," the report added. "It's part of a trend lasting almost two decades, making it the worst drought in 1,200 years. Photo taken on Jshows a white band of dried rocks around Lake Mead near Echo Bay in Nevada, the United States. "NASA satellites have been monitoring waterways in the West for years and documenting how the region is drying up," Vox.com reported Friday. The graphic images underscore the dire threat to some 40 million Americans in seven western states that an anticipated water shortage will create, and were released last week by from its satellites that circumnavigate the globe from 35,000 kilometers high. However, water managers in Arizona, California and Nevada last week failed to agree on a plan to cut water in the lower basin after weeks of heated negotiations.
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Mexico, which also receives water from the river, will see its annual allotment reduced by 7 percent.Įarlier this summer, the federal government gave the states two months to figure out how to stop using 2 to 4 million acre-feet of Colorado River water to help prop up the reservoirs - or face the prospect that the federal government would step in and make the cuts itself. "In order to avoid a catastrophic collapse of the Colorado River System and a future of uncertainty and conflict, water use in the Basin must be reduced," said Tanya Trujillo, assistant secretary for water and science at the Department of the Interior, in a statement last Tuesday.Īccording to the latest plan, Arizona and Nevada would lose 21 percent and 8 percent respectively of their annual allotment of Colorado River water. Recently released surveillance from the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) showed areas where the historic "mega-drought" has left gigantic "bathtub rings" on the country's largest reservoirs and vast, parched areas, which now can be seen from outer space.įederal officials announced new water cuts to states that rely on the Colorado River in a suite of emergency moves to reinforce reservoirs that have hit record-low levels due to climate change and decades of drought. 22 (Xinhua) - The record drought in America's Southwest can be seen from 35,000 kilometers above Earth. The Colorado River system is down to 34 percent capacity, another drop from its 40 percent capacity last year.ĭENVER, the United States, Aug. Combo photo taken by NASA satellites shows the water level change between J(L) and Jin Lake Mead, Nevada, the United States.
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