Water shortage

View of dried-up Colorado River

Federal Program Provides Direct Payments for Colorado River Water Conservation

A water buyback program will pay farmers who reduce their water use in an effort to sustain the West’s reservoirs, which are at historically low levels.

October 16, 2022 - KUNC

Lake Mead 'bathtub ring'

Colorado River Water Crisis Deepens

The states that rely on the Colorado’s water must make drastic cuts in water usage to maintain use of the West’s most important—and most threatened—water source.

October 3, 2022 - NPR

Dry Lake in Arizona

Federal Government Declares Water Shortage as Lake Mead Reaches Critical Low

The first-of-its-kind declaration triggers major water cutbacks for Arizona farmers and reduced allocations for Nevada and Mexico.

August 19, 2021 - The Arizona Republic

Pinal County Arizona

Insufficient Groundwater for Arizona County's Planned Development

New projections for Pinal County in Arizona show that water demand will exceed the area’s supply.

October 24, 2019 - Arizona Republic

Skyline and Beach

Largest Desalinated Water Reserve Ever Unveiled in Abu Dhabi

The UAE has created a storage facility under the desert that can provide up to 100 million liters per day in the event of an emergency.

January 17, 2018 - Quartz

Maroon Creek, Aspen, Colorado

Doomsday Prepping: Aspen Protecting Water Against Future Shortages, Increased Demand

Aspen, Colorado's City Council has voted to preserve the city's water rights with an option to dam local waterways if climate change or population growth creates a shortage of water in the future.

November 15, 2016 - Boulder Weekly

Sao Paulo Rainbow

Age Of Water Scarcity Arrives In Brazil

Ecologists and planners have been warning that water may be the oil of the 21st century. With oil prices plunging, water is getting more dear in some places. Sao Paulo, Brazil's great megacity and economic heart, is already facing a dire shortage.

February 20, 2015 - New York Times

Water Crisis: Challenges Ahead in New Mexico

While much of America’s southwest and inter-mountain west battles blazing forest fires, Magdalena, NM faces a less spectacular but equally fearsome crisis: a municipal system no longer capable of delivering water to the village's 938 residents.

July 13, 2013 - This Big City

Midwestern Drought Threatens the Mississippi River

The Mississippi River handles $7 billion in trade as one of the world's largest navigable inland waterways. A Midwestern drought has brought the river to water levels so low that they threaten to shut down shipping, reports John Schwartz.

December 27, 2012 - The New York Times

Exposing America's Water Crisis

Cynthia Barnett says Americans live under an "illusion of water abundance" and calls for government water managers and private water companies to "stem the drain on America's water resources before it's too late."

November 13, 2012 - The Los Angeles Times

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