Even though the water level on Lake Powell rose half a foot this year, the Bureau of Reclamation announced that Lake Mead is projected to be in a “shortage condition” in 2025 — meaning Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico will see cuts in how much water they can use from the Colorado River.
Grand Junction, the city just west of the Rocky Mountains, is already in a bad spot. If I were to guess a percentage of how much water we have left versus how much used to be there, I’d say we’ve used about 60% of all the water. The biggest problem is that we are using water faster than it replenishes. Even if Colorado had the worst winter ever recorded, it would still not be enough to replenish what’s been used. I am 100% confident that every single place that relies on water from the Colorado River will be out of water within our lifetimes.