Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US by volume, has drained at an alarming rate this year. At around 1,067 feet above sea level and 35% full, the Colorado River reservoir is at its lowest since the lake was filled after the Hoover Dam was completed in the 1930s.
The American Southwest is facing an unprecedented drought as temperatures reach record highs and scant rainfall is to be found. Unfortunately, federal and state policy has encouraged rapid population growth and the transformation of arid land into intensive agricultural expanses across the region over the last century. Now, the desert is striking back and the federal government has declared a water shortage at Lake Mead in Nevada and Arizona for the first time ever.