- Regan Morris, Sophie Long
- BBC News, Los Angeles
2 hours
Drought is once again stalking the western US, endangering access to water for millions of people.
Nowhere is that clearer than at Lake Mead, located on the Arizona-Nevada border near Las Vegas, and formed by the construction of the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River.
It is the largest reservoir in the US and provides water to 25 million people in three states and Mexico.
Water levels in the lake are so low that the bodies of murder victims from decades ago, once hidden in the depths, are resurfacing.
One turned up inside a barrel, with a shotgun wound. You would think that someone believed that he would remain at the bottom of the water reservoir forever.
A much bigger problem
If the lake continues to recede, it may reach a point known as a “dead pool”—a water level so low that Hoover Dam could no longer produce hydropower or continue to distribute water downstream.
Californians have been told to conserve water at home or they could risk mandatory restrictions as the West Coast drought is expected to worsen over the summer.
image source, Archyde.com
In Southern California, irrigation is only allowed once a day.
The population has been asked to limit the irrigation of the gardens and to take shorter showers. In Los Angeles, they have asked to reduce water consumption by up to 35%. The restrictions come after California experienced its driest year on record.
Effects of climate change
The space agency NASA – whose functions include monitoring changes in water levels in the country’s reservoirs – warns that the western region of the US is entering one of the worst droughts in history.
“It seems that the dominoes are starting to fall with climate change,” NASA hydrologist JT Reager told the BBC.
image source, Archyde.com
One of the most feared consequences of the drought is forest fires, like the ones that affected the state in 2019.
“We have warmer temperatures, less precipitation and less snow. Dams start to dry up and then in a place like the West we have wildfires.”
The fallout is starting to have “heavier and stronger impacts,” Reager said.
“It’s like watching this catastrophe unfold in slow motion.”
Economic impact
Agriculture is feeling the serious effects of the drought, since about 75% of Lake Mead’s water goes to that sector.
Nearly 33% of the vegetables and 66% of the fruits and nuts consumed in the US are grown in California. But tens of thousands of acres are sitting idle because farmers can’t get enough water to grow crops.
“The impact could be seen on the shelves next year,” Bill Diedrich, a California farmer, told the BBC.
“This season’s harvest will be in stores next season,” he explained as he showed off his dry fields.
At another time, you would have tomatoes planted for canning but you haven’t had enough water.
image source, Archyde.com
California is facing its worst drought since 1977.
Diedrich said he was hopeful his sons might have a chance to continue farming in California in the future.
But “I don’t know what the chances are of that happening,” he said.
“Suddenly, we will have no water”
The wells have started to dry up and many of California’s farmers don’t have the resources to dig deeper wells.
In the San Joaquin Valley, says Fabian, a local resident who preferred not to give his last name, he and his family of 5 rely on water tanks outside their home to flush and flush toilets.
A view of Lake Mead – at better times, the water comes right up to the rocks.
He says he regrets moving his family to a rural area with so little security of access to water.
“It’s pretty scary because at this point, we don’t know what the situation is going to be in a month or two. Maybe we won’t even have water.”
Checking for solutions
Many farmers argue that it is time to invest in infrastructure, such as the Hoover Dam – which was built in the 1930s – that can capture more rainwater, and thus avoid sending it back to the ocean.
The dams are controversial and are often opposed by environmentalists. But given the severity of the drought, even California’s Democratic leadership — strongly aligned with environmental groups — has proposed rethinking some of the dam projects the state had neglected.
But while some worry, others innovate. An Arizona company, Source, is installing hydropanels in homes in California and around the world, which use the power of the sun to draw water from the air.
image source, Source
Solutions have been emerging, such as these hydropanels that capture moisture from the air.
Source’s Kat George was in California’s Central Valley, where the company is installing hydropanels in 1,000 homes so people can access clean drinking water. Although her wells still work, in some areas the water is too polluted to drink because of the chemicals used in agriculture.
The company uses solar energy to run fans inside the panels, which recover moisture from the air and then filter it, making it fit for consumption.
And even if it doesn’t produce enough water for washing, a small panel system can produce enough water for a family to drink, as long as the sun is shining, which is common in California.
Entrepreneurs say this technology can provide drinking water to anyone who needs it, anywhere.
Seeing the lake “half full”
Lake Mead, the largest reservoir of water in the US, was created with the construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s.
Back on Lake Mead, boating is no longer possible at the Calville Bay marina, and the “lake view” restaurant is now a long walk from the shore.
But not everything has been negative. New beaches have emerged and divers are flocking to look for more bodies, says Chad Taylor, sales and marketing manager for the marina.
“I’m the kind of person who sees the lake ‘half full,'” he says. “Business is still open.”
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