An American Water Crisis is Coming.
Simon Whistler · February 26, 2026 · 20 min video · Americas
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From the transcript
In the United States of America, more than 40 million people rely on the Colorado River for everything. The Colorado runs through the taps of their sinks and heads of their shars. It waters their gardens and cleans their clothes and keeps their infrastructure running smoothly.
The river grows their food, keeps their farmers in business and carries away their waste. Entire cities exist today solely because of the Colorado River. Denver, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, but the Colorado rivers, drying up and leaders all across the American West, have made clear that they simply aren't ready to handle the crisis.
For the last 26 years, the southwestern region of North America has been in the state of ongoing mega drought, the driest period in the Southwest's history in more than a millennium. Relief isn't coming, the problem is only getting worse every year, and some of the most important reservoirs in the region are now constantly at a critical low.
This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.
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About this briefing
America’s West is running out of water. As the Colorado River dries up and states miss critical deadlines, political deadlock and drought threaten cities, farms, and millions of lives.
Sources
- 01Dw A
- 02Theguardian Colorado River Crucial Deadline
- 03Axios Colorado River Basin States Missed Deadline Federal Solution
- 04Apnews Colorado River Arizona California Nevada Water
- 05Latimes States Miss Colorado River Deadline
- 06Aspenjournalism Colorado Has Big Dreams To Use More Water From The Colorado River But Will Planned Reservoirs Ever Be Built
- 07Fooddigital Water Scarcity Crisis Colorado River Basin
- 08Nytimes Water Shortage Colorado River
- 09Coloradosun Colorado Water Officials Grim Drought Forecasts Reservoir
- 10Coloradonewsline A Paradigm Shift On The Colorado River Is The Only Way To Confront The Water Crisis
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- 12Tucson Article 3ac0c5cf 15e9 4c68 9ca1
- 13Bbc Crmlgpnnzyxo
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- 18Coloradosun Lake Powell Forecast Critical Lows Federal Study
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- 30Nature S43247 024 01291 0
- 31Cpr How Might We Save The Colorado River
