Drop In Colorado River Water Use

This is an excerpt from the June 22, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode reports on a remarkable drop in Colorado River water consumption. It’s an encouraging sign for the beleaguered river. The three states that hold the Colorado River’s lower basin used a lot less of its water last year, a low that hasn’t been seen in 33 years. This comes at a time of growing awareness of the vulnerability of the region’s water in a drying and warming climate. Arizona, California, and Nevada combined to consume just over 6.5 million acre-feet last year, according to an annual audit from the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency that oversees the lower basin.