The American West Is Running Out Of Water. Will California Desalinate?

The American West is facing its longest drought in 1,200 years, presenting the nation with its worst water crisis since the Dust Bowl of the early 20th century.

The Colorado River Basin, which operates as a lifeline for 40 million people across seven states, is drying up. Lake Powell is at its lowest water level since 1969, just six years after the reservoir along the Utah-Arizona border was filled by the Glen Canyon Dam. Further downstream, Lake Mead has dropped to its lowest level since 1937, two years after the completion of the Hoover Dam. Water levels are now so low that areas once reliably blue have receded to reveal empty canyons seen from space. Below are time-lapse images of Lake Mead from NASA’s Earth Observatory published in July: