What 7 states rely on the Colorado River?

The Colorado River is a critical resource in the West, because seven basin states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) depend on it for water supply, hydropower production, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and other benefits.



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California — with the largest allocation of water from the river — is the lone holdout. Officials said the state would release its own plan. The Colorado River and its tributaries pass through seven states and into Mexico, serving 40 million people and a $5 billion-a-year agricultural industry.

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The three “Lower Basin” states also receive 7.5 million acre-feet. Of that, California has the right to take up to 4.4 million acre-feet from the river each year; because they have the oldest legal rights to the river, Californians are also the last to see cuts during drought.

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If the water levels dip much lower, the Colorado's northernmost reservoir won't have enough in the tank to both fill Lake Mead downstream and generate any hydropower, which would have devastating effects on the electricity grid in the western US.

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Only about 10 percent of all the water that flows into the Colorado River makes it into Mexico and most of that is used by the Mexican people for farming.

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Colorado River crisis is so bad, lakes Mead and Powell are unlikely to refill in our lifetimes. Boaters are dwarfed by a white bathtub ring around Lake Mead.

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The Colorado River might not dry up completely. But there's a good chance it won't provide enough water for the 40 million people who depend on it. No one knows when this could happen, but many experts think the drought will only worsen, which means we need to save water.

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As mentioned, it's possible for the water level in Lake Mead to drop to the point where the dam cannot generate hydroelectric power. However, it's very unlikely that the lake would completely run out of water.

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The Colorado River is drying up due to a combination of chronic overuse of water resources and a historic drought. The dry period has lasted more than two decades, spurred by a warming climate primarily due to humans burning fossil fuels.

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What happens if Lake Mead dries up forever? If Lake Mead were to run out of water, the Hoover Dam would no longer be able to generate power or provide water to surrounding cities and farms. The Colorado River would essentially stop flowing, and the Southwest would be in a major water crisis.

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