"Tough conservation measures." Like no more desert lawns and golf courses? Or is that just more than flesh and blood can endure?

When 40 million people live in a place that doesn't have water or their own source of electricity bad things are bound to happen eventually.

Can anyone else hear Sam Kinison screaming “IT’S A DESERT “

I remember visiting Hoover Dam in 1983 and watching the spillway overflow in action. It was a spectacular site to see. Went back two years ago and was very sad watching the water level drop extremely low. Never in my lifetime I would have experience this event ☹️

Ironic, John Wesley Powell, who was the first to explore the Grand Canyon, the lake is named for and served as the Director of the US Geological Survey, tried to tell Congress there should be little to no development west of the 100 degree longitude, because there wasn't enough water.

The more people we can get in the water at one time, the higher the level will rise.

Thank goodness the PARk Service refused the interview, THAT would have been embarrassing .

3:32 “How do you beat something like this”? By making annoying noise with a flute. 🤦‍♀️

You can’t rob water all down the river and expect these damns to fill up…it’s a desert!

It's in a desert where tree ring records going back over 1,000 years show has repeatedly gone into drought, some lasting over 100 years which wiped out civilizations like the Chaco Canyon Indians. This should surprise no one, yet here we are.

Yea, thats usually how it goes when monstrous cities and farming in the desert use up more water than is going in. Lots of people have some nice green lawns in the middle of the desert at least. 👍

It all has to do with consumption, not drought. It's a desert. This is not a reliable region for water storage.

“About 80% of the Colorado River goes to agriculture, and 14% to California. “ I hadn’t ridden my motorcycle on this particular foothills mega dry stretch of road you wouldn’t want to break down on nothing out there. So yesterday I took that road and saw nothing but almond trees as far as I could see on some of the most dry lava rock littered no ag land you would ever think of planting anything on let alone water guzzling almond trees on friggin mountainsides and the peaks. These aren’t farmers doing this, these are massive corporations buying up the land out here planting more and more almonds and soybean when I can’t remember the last time it rained here. You would think with these forecasting of drought, they would consider reeling back on the almonds but they don’t because of Chinese demand and greed. They have some ground water pumps that can suck so much moisture that it starts drawing off of my well usually when you have the soap in your hair. These entities and folks involved profit until pushback or exposure and their first reaction is to blame the host/consumers. Nothing new under the sun.

all states using lake powell for drinking water are still issuing building permits . no pitty here

California should be exporting water, not importing it. Time to build more desalination plants along the coast.

at least theres lots of sand for everyone to stick their heads in....

Past civilizations have come and gone into the sands of time. History shows this one will be no different....

Before they built the dam, they went to each of the states that the Colorado river went through or touched. In order to sell the project they looked at rainfall records in the watershed area. They didn't have a lot of records, but they grabbed the numbers that jumped out at them. This amount of rainfall over a given area of watershed yielded a fixed volume of water. So, they had to issue water rights so they took this number, and promised or allocated each state a portion. Almost a hundred years later nobody ever thought to recheck the rainfall records and possibly modified allotments. Nobody wanted to see if a mistake was made in the beginning. After all in the western states of America, water is for fighting, whiskey is for drinking. Well rainfall records are much more complete now so a few folks started looking. Turns out before they built the dam, the yearly rainfall they thought was normal wasn't. In fact they used the data from exceptionally wet years. So, since the dam was built, they have been allocating the same number every year. They won't tell you that. But they will blame everything else...especially if they can get more control, money and power.

Nature always wins an takes back what it started the way it was.

Don’t worry the government will find a fix as soon as the lake drys up.

A drought in the desert?? I would've never thought

We live in a desert. Why is their no water. Mind-boggling mystery.

It was heartbreaking when they built the Glen Canyon Dam, senselessly flooding 'Cathedral in the Desert' and other treasures, just to prevent Lake Mead and Hoover Dam from silting up. It was only from a public outcry that the same fools were prevented from building a dam which would have flooded Grand Canyon. Thus far they have not prevailed. To see these magnificent natural treasures reduced to cesspools with bathtub rings around them shocks the sensibilities of anyone who appreciates the unrivaled beauty of the desert Southwest.

Can't wait to see the desert Canyons again but there was always a river running through beautiful ecosystems in places for wild people

Blame the pools and golf courses in Phoenix, Vegas and Los Angeles, better yet, blame the mindset.

The lake water level is projected to drop another 35 feet next year!? Well at least the golf courses will be nice and green until there's no water left in Arizona.

I remember going to lake Powell my whole childhood and going to sand hill. It's crazy to see this. I remember seeing what the original water lvl was on the walls of the canyons. Can't imagine what it's like now. Very sad.

One of the prettiest canyons in the world is buried underneath Lake Powell ..I shed no tears when the water goes away. Let the Colorado flow freely forever. Let Glen Canyon return

If it’s a 20 year drought then it’s not a drought, it’s the normal

Not sure if many will remember this, but the Colorado River used to flow into Mexico. The land all around for hundreds of miles where it flowed into Mexico was rich productive farmland. However with the dam, and our (USA’s) water usage, the Colorado River flowing into Mexico is now a small stream compared to what it used to be. That farmland, it’s a desert now. The USA has always contended “our River, our land, our water,” which I’m not sure is fair to Mexico. If you take water rights and laws in the USA into consideration, Mexico got the short end of the stick.

This is the beginning of a long term drought. The party is over.

I remember back in 84, when Lake Powell's water level rose to within 5 feet of over flowing the top of Glenn Canyon Dam and even running the spillways wide open couldn't push it back. We're in a severe draught now, it won;t last, they never do. Luckilly, Glenn Canyon and Hoover dams were designed to store prodigious amounts of water for just such drought conditions and they are proving their metal right now. We could easily go another 7 years of extreme drought before we'd be in real trouble. One good year of extreme snowfall could get us out of this.

Hey! Its a desert lets build golf courses and sell everybody a back yard pool. no problem! What could go wrong?

Man: The fishing been good Fish: because we have no where to swim.

Really happy to be leaving Arizona before the water wars start.

You would think with water levels as low as they are that states would restrict golf courses from watering their grass, and maybe cease production of almonds. It takes 1900 gallons of water for one pound of almonds. Neither of these measures would ever take effect because business is money and money is king.

Starting to think the desert states were settled during a temporary wet spell and a drought is the regular weather pattern.

The amount of fresh water that dumps into the ocean every second out of the Columbia river alone is mind boggling. We're not out of water, we just need to manage what we have better.

I'v never been there but it looks like an amazing place to visit. Wish I was younger and owned a boat.

Better outlaw those pretty green lawns before there’s nothing left to drink.

Yep, blame it on a non existent drought. Annual snow pack that feeds LP has stayed pretty steady over the last few decades. It may sound silly, but desert don’t get much rain. Maybe it’s something crazy like too many people living in deserts.

You build a lake in a DESERT and it dries up. Surprise!

“Regret always come at last” and all became to late~

Plenty of fresh water here in the Great Lakes...reminds me I gotta go move the lawn sprinklers

Don't you love seeing ostrich burying they're heads in the sand 🤣😂

"There would be no water to distribute to the 40 million people who depend on that water..." Lady, there wouldn't be 40 million people to distribute water to in the first place. There is only a drought cause people insist on developing urban areas where is illogical to begin with!

Im from Colorado spent many times at Powell.. this absolutely breaks my heart I live in Kentucky now for the last two years and I wish I could send you the water that we have here to help you there because I don't know what the farmers the ranchers everyone's gonna do there

The factors at play in this scenario are right out of Idiocracy.

They almost lost the dam (and lake) in the early 1980's to massive flooding. Nothing is permanent.

Why don't they just write legislation to make it rain and snow pack.

The title vs every going 'yeah, it's cool. we're still having fun.'

There aren't any watering bans in most places that are having issues.

At least we know what happens when you put a lake in the desert

Always interesting to listen to people's emotions and opinions about the environment they are in. Then there is reality of nature, it doesn't give a rip about humanity and our petty things and just continues on and on.

How dare the earth change and keep us humans from our drunken shenanigans

Your Producers/Editors are great.

When you try and build a society in the desert without ample water supply .

About 20 years ago I was in LV and the Hoover was literally overflowing. All the gates were open 24-7 and it was still overtopping the dam. That was one second ago in geologic time. This is a natural cycle and there's not anything we can do about it. Glad I saw the lake when it was full.

The draining by seven states of this valuable resource as it travels toward the Gulf of Mexico now means it never reaches its outlet!

It's almost like you aren't supposed to live in a desert.

60,000 palm trees in LA. Not a tree, but a form of grass. Uses huge amounts of water and is not native. Palms need a constant source of water. Same as in Denver. You brought in trees that are not native which require water not provided naturally for their survival.

On plus side, I think it is cool to see things exposed after being lost in the depths for whatever amount of years such as that boat, cave, etc.

Omg we used to go camping and swimming many years ago wow! ❤️🙏🏼

If I could, I would give you the rain we are having in Mississippi.

Um boating? Isn’t this about drinking water and food irrigation?

Dumping all that water on Del Webb's " life tested golf course communities" has finally taken its toll.

Texan here. The Colorado River hasn't touched the gulf since before I was a small child. I'm 65yrs old!

This is good actually. That horrible lake should never have been made to begin with.

It’s a man made lake in a desert. It’s not supposed to be there.

We need to go back to mandatory primary education so people learn the basic facts of our world.

Looks like this could make a fun new off-road area for jeeps and other off-roaders and campers

I just saw a documentary about how polar bears had no where to land.. Hey this gives me an idea.

Now we have St. George wanting to get some of that water for golf course and green lawns.

We need to stop wasting water on golf courses and grass in the desert

Almond groves, massive ones, known to be some of the biggest water hogs, growing on the high desert. Golf course communities, new ones being built as fast as they can in Utah, in the desert. Some planning commissions somewhere are very well connected politically.

They should have been "concerned" a decade ago and did something about it

It's almost as if big cities in the desert are using water

There's a lot more to this story than is being covered here....

Well, at least ya have a green lawn and avocados. 🤷🏽‍♂️

How about a showgram on California's layers of aquifers.. glug, glug, glug.

The guy with the flute and the air head liberal lady smiling at him was a bit much.

Nestle must have opened a new plant nearby.

Somewhere Edward Abbey is laughing.

So sad, I’ve been going to Lake Powell since I was a child in like 2001. Now my grandparents are a bit too old to stress about running a house boat full of people, but Lake Powell dipping so low just adds salt to the wound to my childhood.

Years ago, I saw some articles that spoke about the "Snowy Mountain Project" that took place in Australia. That continent has one major Mt. range located in the S/E corner. Winter snow run off sent about 50% of it's water into the ocean. A series of catch basins, tunneled pipeline to the interior, managed to reclaim much of that run off and pumping it inland, supplied sufficient irrigation to feed 25M more people. Each year here in the US, we lose countless amounts of water via the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers into the Gulf of Mexico, not to mention immense quantities of top soil. I can't help but wonder how much of those river might be processed much like that Snowy Mt. one and perhaps help farms and ranches upstream of Lake Powell, allowing more of it to reach the reservoir?

Imagine having a man made lake in a desert with a constant population growth while using said water.

You build homes, golf courses, casino in the desert and one water supply water and electricity. What happens when that water supply gets disrupted???

When I was in Lake Powell in 2000, it was that low as well. I could easily see below the ramps. We used the nearby cliff to jump into the low water (still deep and easily see the depth). It was a great day for us.

Salton Sea is a dangerous shame. So many memories in the 80s

Meanwhile, here in SE Texas we have been getting hammered with rain. Our lakes are overflowing.

We had the same drought problem in Texas. Now they're closing the lakes because of high water and the rain won't stop.

The issue of the water level decreasing is needlessly cluttered with the recreational needs of boaters! Reporters are confused. Hiding trees in the forest? Should I be concerned about the drop in water levels, or about the discomfort to a few well-heeled boaters?

Edward Abbey predicted all of this when the Glen Canyon dam was built

" next spring it'll probably drop another 35 feet *straight down*" Versus straight up?🥺

The biggest idea I am trying to express is tunneling aqueducts from the coast, in this case the west coast of the USA inland to feed combination geothermal power and sea water desalination plants. The idea seems to be so big that no one has considered it possible but I believe it is not only possible but it is necessary. For over a century the fossil water contained in aquifers has been pumped out to feed agriculture, industry and municipal water needs. The natural water cycle cant refill fossil water deposits that were filled 10,000 years ago when the glaciers melted after the last ice age. Without refilling these aquifers there is not much of a future for the region of the United states. As a result ground levels in some areas of the San Joaquin Valley have subsided by more than 30 feet. Similar fossil water depletion is happening in other regions all around the world. TBM and tunneling technology has matured and further developments in the industry are poised to speed up the tunneling process and it's these tunnels that are the only way to move large volumes of water from the ocean inland. The water is moved inland to areas where it can be desalinated in geothermal plants producing clean water and power. In many cases the water will recharge surface reservoirs where it will be used first to make more hydro power before being released into rivers and canal systems. It's very important however to not stop tunneling at these first stops but to continue several legs until the water has traveled from the ocean under mountain ranges to interior states. Along the way water will flow down grade through tunnels and rise in geothermal loops to fill mountain top pumped hydro batteries several times before eventually recharging several major aquifers. What I am proposing is essentially reversing the flow of the Colorado River Compact. Bringing water from the coast of California first to mountaintop reservoirs then to the deserts of Nevada and Arizona and on to Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming. This big idea looks past any individual city or states problems and looks at the whole and by using first principles identifies the actual problem and only solution. Thank you for your time, I would like the opportunity to explain in further detail and answer any questions. A better future is possible, David

someone needs to fly over with those beach banners flying behind a plan saying " i told you so"

I am sure that Nestle has a vested interest

The Colorado River was once a mighty River Now it's just a shadow of What it once was. California is a major issue......

I was driving along the Snake River, roughly between Boise, Id. and Enterprise, Oregon in the Summer a couple years ago. The river was quite low and the river smelled awful.

Get 4 tunneling machines and 1starts at the Grand Canyon, the second 1/4 of the way to the Great Lakes, the third 1/2 way aiming toward the lakes and the 4th one starting at Lake Superior aimed at the 3rd tunneling machine. Residents of the lakes are complaining of high water.