In many ways, water is worth more than gold in the nation’s driest state.
Every year, snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains trickles down the Colorado. In good years, we watch the water in Lake Mead rise, and in bad years, we watch water levels drop.
So, where are we today?
“There is no section that I can see of the Colorado river basins, upper basin area where a lot of that snow falls is at or above average,” said Alex Hager, Colorado River Reporter for KUNC in Colorado. “Most of it is significantly below. And that's going to be a problem for filling the major reservoirs that supply water to cities like Las Vegas.”
To cope, we replace grass with desert landscapes while water managers work good to conserve more water.
Hager told State of Nevada that many water districts are trying to emulate the water recycling efforts that the Southern Nevada Water Authority has pursued in recent years. According to the water authority, 99 percent of water sent down drains in Clark County is returned to Lake Mead.
“A lot of cities around the basin are seeing that they might not have much hand in their fate in terms of how much water ends up in their reservoirs, in their city pipe,” said Hager. “They're saying, let's take some control into our own hands, and wastewater recycling is a way to do that.”
At the same time, negotiations over water allotments in the country’s two largest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, have stalled. Policymakers have until December 2026 to negotiate the needed guidelines or risk federal intervention.
Hager said, if water managers fail to agree, the issue could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
“If this does go to the Supreme Court, it means that most likely, most, or all of the states that use water from the Colorado River would not get what they want,” he said.
Guest: Alex Hager, reporter, KUNC
