Lake Mead's low water level prompts feds to consider declaration of Colorado River water shortage 

STOP WATERING ALL THE GOLF COURSES, THAT SHOULD DO IT. THERE IS OVER 300 COURSES IN AZ ALONE...

Not to sound insensitive, but they built cities and farms in the desert...

Maybe The California Government should stop selling over a 100 million of gallons of water to companies like Nestlé and Dasani.

"We don't change unless we absolutely have to." Yeah that's part of the problem. This is something that could have been addressed gradually 20 years ago when there was time.

Farmers growing food in the desert, and now that their surface water is fading away, they’re also going to drain the aquifers instead of just admitting that growing food in the desert is a huge waste of water.

The desert wasn't meant to grow crops. That's why he's only a 2nd gen farmer.

2014: "How critical a point are we at?" "It's at a pretty critical point" 2021: "What point are we at?" "We're at a tipping point!"

When you put a farm in a DESERT, and rely on an artificially made water source failure is almost assured. Just because you CAN do something , doesn't mean you SHOULD do it.

“Let’s build giant cities in the desert; what could possibly go wrong!?”

So you're telling me that they interviewed this lady in 2014 and she advised them about the problem that's going on. And nothing happened to make a change and now the problem got worse. Must suck

And AZ is building record homes and everyone is moving there.

The farmer said the future is “pretty cloudy”? I’d say that ain’t the issue.

Historically in the US, we are wasteful with our abundance and resources, and that includes water.

Just keep building houses even though we’re running out of water

I remember flying into Phoenix and noticed how many homes all had pools in the back yard.

It takes so much longer to refill ground water than reservoirs. Thats worse.

Meanwhile; Nestle is still bottling stolen water with complete immunity.

Visited Arizona and everyone’s out there watering their green lawns- maybe stop lol

I probably wouldn’t be farming in Arizona. Unless I’m farming cactus.

Why is there a drought? How long has the drought been going on? What is the historical drought data for this region? Home builders in AZ must prove a 100-year water supply to get a building permit; how are they able to get permits? I didn’t hear those kinds of questions come up in this video.

CA, AZ was warned many years ago about the need to cut back their water use.

Hmm... maybe having lawns in the desert isn't such a great idea. Even GTAV radio called that one right 8 years ago.

When LA county ALONE has a population larger than 40 states, and you're pumping water to them from a state away, of course you're going to have lower levels.

My Pappy & I were both born in St George, UT. Shortage of water out west has always been a problem. Water usage in St George was always regulated. I was with him in 1972 when we went out to Nevada to bury his father. We stopped by a gully with a trickle of water running along the bottom. Pappy explained that that was the Virgin River! And even back then he was worried that St George was gaining a large influx of retirees from other states. He wondered where the water was going to come from to sustain them. While we were in St George, we stayed with some of his friends, who had a house right on the edge of town. Their yard had a lawn, which had to be watered daily. Where the lawn stopped, the desert began. Literally. The world needs for some brilliant leaders, engineers, and environmental scientists who can not only develop workable solutions to save it, but a population who will COOPERATE instead of oppose them. Too many people don't believe there is a major problem until they are DIRECTLY affected by it; then they wonder why someone didn't WARN them.

That lady nailed it…”We don’t change unless we absolutely have to”…Savage truth about human nature 🤨💯

Imagine that. We built big cities in a desert and we’re running out of water. Who could’ve guessed. It’s like building cities below sea level in the gulf and being shocked when hurricanes bury them. Humans always make great decisions.

Two stupid things about this: First, if the priority is to give water to homeowners, will they spend it watering lawns in the desert? Second, why are farmers growing alfalfa in the desert? Isn't that the most water hungry crop there is? Lawns and alfalfa in the desert are both just crazy. :-(

They have literally been predicting this for well over a decade and everyone acts so surprised.

“this desert has existed for hundreds of thousands of years as a desert” “let’s build giant cities here and also try to farm food” what could go wrong

"Large amounts of the southwest are dry" Yeah no kiddin. It's a desert.

There's a drought yet they're allowing people to water lawns here in Nevada 6days a week.

It’s dry in the desert regions? Shocking!

Going to be a lot of Ghost towns and cities in these states when the water runs out.

I live in Northern Nevada, still a drought area. We need to stop excessive watering, landscape watering. Also, growing water intensive crops in the dessert is never a good idea. It's a mess.

When I was a kid, Boulder Beach was a sandy beach and the water was just a few feet from the beach. Now the water level is almost a mile out from where it used to be. It was a shock to see.

Almost like building tons of large cities in a DESERT was a bad idea.

"History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of man."

"Wow, that is an alarming outlook". "Now, watch this drive!"

LA needs to get its water supply from a desalination plant on the ocean. Problem solved.

They need a strong politician who can mandate NO SWIMMING POOLS, NO GOLF COURSE WATERING, NO MONOCULTURE LAWNS. Objections can cry me a river.

“Time is upon us to pray for rain.” How about time to get serious about conservation and change our behavior.

Imagine living in the desert and being shocked there is very little water.

Imagine how much water would be saved simply by giving up big lawns

Here in Africa we have seen this aswell, prepare to forget gardens and rinsing the toilet 🤯

Marc Reisner saw this coming in his 1986 book “Cadillac Desert.”

Yet, AZ needs those green golf courses. Need to change priorities.

🤔 should have put more money into desalination plants instead of windmills

3:23 “Rushing to drill wells so that they can continue to farm”. They don’t have the ground water either! The aquifers are also on the verge of collapse. It doesn’t take a genius to know that one shouldn’t farm in a desert.

All those green lawns and golf courses need lots of daily water. The amount of water running into storm drains daily is tons also.

“We dont change unless we absolutely have to” uuuh maybe thats the problem , we need to start planning for the future instead of saying we’ll deal with it when the time comes.

It's almost like the dust bowl all over again and just in time for the 100 year anniversary...

How much of that corn is being used to make ethanol which is totally pointless?

Water is just the beginning of the food impact…it’s gonna get really interesting 🤔

They neglected to address whether the problem is caused by a lack of rainfall, increased consumption, or both. That's important info for the story, don't you think?

Have L.A. flush their toilets with ocean water.

instead of oil pipelines, why not water lines from the miss. river when it floods?

I was in Vegas about a month ago. They just keep building more and more tract homes on the outskirts. Local governments treat them as tax farms for the property tax revenue. There's no incentive on the part of developers or local governments to dial back, just cram as many homes in as possible like an overstuffed chicken coop. One day it will end.

But it's more than just nature. It's the over-development of places like Las Vegas with golf courses and lawns where it's a desert and lawns do not belong.

I used to swim in lake mead for years big change every year.

So when they make a “declaration” does that mean they will be able to pluck from the money tree and fix it? 🙄. You cannot cut off agriculture. We need food. People can do without lawns … car washes, swimming pools, etc.

Rhis is why you dont put multiple cities in the middle of a desert

When Lake Mead hits bottom.. So will housing prices in Las Vegas..

THIS is why I sold my house in Las Vegas and moved back to the Midwest. Not to mention that the water we got was terrible!! You have to have your own water treatment system at home just to bathe in it, let alone drink it!!!! Moved back to Midwest in 2008.

They had planned for 60 dams, and reservoirs to be built as California’s population increases, but never built them!

It was asinine to be growing crops in the Arizona desert in the first place.

Las Vegas Valley population gets 90% of their water from Lake Meade. 1990: ~750,000 2018: 2.2 million.

Patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for nuclear groundwater.

WHY.. did they put that drain tunnel in the middle of Lake Mead 6-8 yrs ago?.. A relative worked on it for 5 yrs.. now the level is low.. where is it being drained to?.. hint.. it starts with a C

"Pray for rain". Or, you know, take seriously to what scientists and engineers have been saying for the last 50 years.

Who looked at the desert and said to themselves "let's farm here". That's so ridiculous

I just got back from Vegas. The entire west has to change their ways. Farming in the desert, water intensive industries, and golf courses have to go. Growth needs to be reigned in across the board. The writing has been on the wall for 20 YEARS!!!!!

Nature will always win, just listen to George Carlin

Apparently building cities in desserts is a bad idea.

Millions move to and live in a desert and the water level drops. This has more to do with with the low water levels than a drought in general. The Southwest is not able to handle the population explosion there for the last few decades.

According to the sedimentary lines throughout the Grand Canyon, this has been happening for since the beginning of time. The problem is that it disrupts the "millions and billions of years" theories that "popular opinions" have adopted as science. There is no consideration about erosion of the bottom of the lakes and rivers in any of these assessments.

This needs to be on The Front page in every News Outlet!

I've visited lake Mead several times in my life. I saw it when it was alive, it's long dead now. A disaster should have been declared 30 years ago. Now the resorts and piers and boathouses are miles from the receded water. Look how all these comments are clear and right on target. Why can't politicians speak truth like that ?

"Vast agricultural land of the desert Southwest". I think I've identified the problem

Desalination plants to convert salt water into fresh water is the only option. They’ve done it in the Middle East for years and so can we!

In the UK we locate our water resrvoirs where we get the most rainfall and at times snowfall. In the USA they build a water reservoir in the desert?

Stop growing corn corn in the dessert, Iowa and Nebraska grow enough to feed America, watering every day in the dessert is a waste, your the ones draining the water for everyone else. When there's a water shortage, people tell the residents to stop watering there lawns, and only water at night, but any business will think they have the right to water any time of day and use what they want, including golf courses. Just to make your grass green or grow crops in a dessert. 99% of farmers in the Midwest don't water crops, it's the spring rains that help produce until fall harvest. Climate change is real, the earth is always changing regardless of what we do, we have a huge reservoir where I'm at , and it to has dropped a lot in two years, even after a flood

This is a solvable problem - we need to quit wasting so much water and reuse more of it.

Why the heck are we growing corn and alfalfa in Arizona?

The lake was very low when I was at the Hoover dam in August 2009.

I remember back in the 90s Pat saying Las Vegas has no problems with water and the explosive housing sprawl, now she has retired with big bucks and its a problem now. Wtf!

Food prices are going to skyrocket over the next 10 years.

Question: Exactly when did all these governors and water boards in control of the dams in each state think to close the runoff gates? Four months ago...or yesterday?

No one ever limited constructions to attract more people coming to Calif. and Nevada. Farming in the desert didn't help either. Why do they need vineyard?

This is what happens when you build a giant dam on a sacred river to give water to Metropolis cities in the literal desert, oh and charge money for it.

You simply don’t build cities on the desert for this very reason.

I’d stop flying individual private jets to conferences to talk about how to fix it .

To be fair I have never understood the people who literally WATER THEIR LAWNS!! out West KNOWING water is a problem...

We should not be trying to grow crops that require more water than what is available in the DESERT 🌵 DUH! 🙄

*Humans: let’s build cities in Deserts*…. *Desert water drying up decades later.* “OH THE HUMANITY!” Lmao

Notable is most of the agricultural land in California isn't irrigated by the Colorado River/Lake Mead. It comes from the Sacramento River Delta and is moved south via the California Aqueduct. Mullholland and his "water wars" made that happen. Part of that water is pumped over Tejon Pass to the L.A. Basin.

Feds 🥸: " we declare a water shortage " Earth🌏: ok, so what ?

Switch to solar for energy and grow food where it actually rains.

I remember as a kid like 5 running around parking lot announcing to everyone i was in the dam parking lot and was so happy i could say that and not get in trouble.

You start building desalination plants up and down the coast and irrigate like Israel where the spray nozzle is just above the plant reduces evaporation.

The amount of water they use to spray round up and paraquat is mind boggling. Not to mention the effects it has on the environment and people.