US drought: States fail to agree on water cuts

[Eldorado]

The Colorado river, which flows from the Rocky Mountains to the desert plains of America’s south-west, supplies water to 40 million people in the US and Mexico and sustains a $15 billion-a-year agriculture industry, the Associated Press reports.

Yet despite its crucial status, seven States have allowed more to be taken from the river than it can naturally replenish in recent years. This week, officials missed a deadline to propose water cuts the government has said are necessary. Federal officials have failed to impose laws of their own that could prove beneficial down the line.

Both Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two largest reservoirs that hold Colorado River water, have fallen to a dangerously low level – just above one quarter of their capacity – this summer, faster than anyone expected.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/us-drought-cities-like-las-vegas-could-go-dark-and-crops-turn-to-dust-as-states-fail-to-agree-on-water-cuts/ar-AA10Q02c?