Two of the greatest reservoirs in the country are continuing to dry up inch by inch, putting millions of people in the Western U.S. at risk of having less access to both water and electricity. The water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell are at their lowest points ever, and the UN warned on Tuesday that they are dangerously close to reaching “dead pool status.”
When this occurs, the water levels are so low that it is impossible for water to flow downstream to power hydroelectric plants.
The largest man-made body of water in the nation, Lake Mead, which is situated in Nevada and Arizona, has reached such low levels that it has essentially turned into a cemetery. So far, human remains, dried-out fish, and a sunken boat from World War II have been discovered from beneath the now-shallow waters. Two opposing colors that separate the lake’s walls and show where the water used to be split the lake in half.
According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, the lake should rise to a height of 1,220 feet when it is operating at full capacity. Lake Mead was 1,084 feet above mean sea level on this day in 2020. It is currently at 1,040. According to NASA, this could be the greatest drought to hit the area in 12 millennia, and to maintain hydropower production at normal levels, water levels must remain above 1,000 feet.
The second-largest man-made reservoir in the US, Lake Powell, which is located in Arizona and Utah, is dealing with a similar issue. The lake was last completely full in 1999, but the water level is now many feet lower than it was only a year ago. It was only a fourth full as of Thursday.
Tens of millions of people in seven states are served by both lakes, which also provide irrigation water for farming.
Lis Mullin Bernhardt, a specialist on ecosystems for the United Nations Environment Programme, stated that the situation “has been so dry for more than 20 years that we’re no longer speaking of a drought.” The U.N. attributes the problem to the climate catastrophe and excessive water use.
“We refer to is as ‘aridification’ – a new very dry normal,” they said in a statement.
And even if water cuts are introduced to try and ration the supply, it might not be enough.
“Climate change is the heart of the issue,” UNEP’s North America ecosystems officer Maria Morgado said. “In the long term we need to address the root causes of climate change as well as water demands.”
According to the U.N., the climate catastrophe is only making matters worse because more of the country is suffering from harsh conditions like more frequent, severe droughts, and excessive temperatures.
“These conditions are alarming,” Bernhardt said, “and particularly in the Lake Powell and Lake Mead region, it is the perfect storm.”
According to a drought report released earlier this year by the U.N., 23 countries will be experiencing drought emergencies between 2020 and 2022, including the United States. As roughly three-quarters of the nation’s renewable water resources are consumed each year, water stress is “quite high” in the country. This puts a strain on infrastructure and public health, but it also has an impact on finances; in 2020, wildfires and droughts cost California between $10 and $20 billion.
Droughts account for just around 15% of all natural disasters, yet they are responsible for 60% of all deaths globally from extreme weather. Scientists estimate that more than three-quarters of the world’s population will be affected in less than 30 years.