Major Western Water Source May Dry Up By 2021

"The scientists, working at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, said the West's largest storage reservoir faces increasing threats from a combination of human-induced climate change, growing populations and natural forces like drought and evaporation."

"If drought deepens and water use climbs, the researchers said there is a 50 percent chance Lake Mead will run dry by 2021 and a 10 percent chance it will run out of usable water by 2014."

"Lake Mead and its upstream sibling, Lake Powell, help manage water resources for more than 25 million people in the seven states, including Arizona, that rely on the Colorado River for water and power."

"The two huge reservoirs have been the subject of numerous hydrology models in recent years, but none forecast a dry Lake Mead within 15 years."