The Colorado River Is Running Dry — and Three States Just Went to Court

🆕 NEW: Too little water — or far too much? What if California's Great Flood of 1862 happened today? →    • What If California's Great Flood of 1862 H...   🆕 Part 2: the desert is flooding — and Lake Mead still hit a record low. Here's why →    • Why Pacific Hurricanes Keep Flooding Las V...   See that white band on the canyon walls? It's a bathtub ring — it shows where the water used to be. Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two biggest reservoirs in the United States, just hit record lows. Together they hold less water than at any time since 1957. And the Colorado River behind them supplies about 40 million people: Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Los Angeles, San Diego, and the farms that grow America's winter vegetables. This summer the federal government decided who has to give up water first. Nevada sued. In October, Arizona joined the lawsuit. In this video: what happens to Glen Canyon Dam if Lake Powell drops about 28 more feet, where most of the river's water actually goes (it's probably not where you think), and why the river was promised away in 1922 using water that was never really there. No panic, no doom — just what's actually happening. CHAPTERS 0:00 The white ring on the canyon walls 1:36 A river that begins as snow 2:27 Two giant dams 3:09 1983: when there was too much water 3:54 Problem one: the megadrought 4:42 Problem two: heat 5:14 Problem three: taking more than the river gives 5:40 How much is left? The power pool and dead pool 6:58 The catch: saving Powell by draining Mead 7:43 What you can see at the lakes right now 8:20 Who gives up water? The federal plan and the lawsuits 9:32 The Las Vegas twist 10:13 Where the water actually goes 11:18 1922: promising away a river 13:09 The legal tripwire at Lee Ferry 13:38 What can actually be done 14:37 What to watch this winter 15:14 Quick recap MORE FROM THE EARTH DESK ▶ NEW: The Polar Vortex Is About to Break a Record — And Super El Niño Is Fighting Back:    • The Polar Vortex Is About to Break a Recor...   ▶ Half a Million People Live Inside This Volcano — Campi Flegrei:    • Half a Million People Live Inside This Vol...   ▶ El Niño Just Broke Its Record — And It Hasn't Peaked Yet:    • El Niño Just Broke Its Record — And It Has...   ▶ The Super El Niño Is Here — Are You Ready For This Winter?:    • The Super El Niño Is Here — Are You Ready ...   SOURCES • U.S. Bureau of Reclamation — 24-Month Study, Probable Minimum (Oct 15, 2026): https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/... • U.S. Bureau of Reclamation — Post-2026 Colorado River operations, decision documents: https://www.usbr.gov/ColoradoRiverBas... • Deseret News — Arizona joins Nevada lawsuit over Colorado River cuts (Oct 16, 2026): https://www.deseret.com/environment/2... • KNPR — Nevada sues federal government over Lower Basin water cuts: https://knpr.org/2026-08-25/nevada-su... • Christian Science Monitor — Low water levels, high demand force a reckoning for the Colorado River (Oct 5, 2026): https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment... • PBS NewsHour — Lake Powell hits record low: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/l... • Nature World News — Lake Powell sits about 28 feet above minimum power pool: https://www.natureworldnews.com/artic... • Salt Lake Tribune via Moab Times — States miss deadline for Colorado River deal: https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/la... • WorldAtlas — The year America promised away more Colorado River water than exists: https://www.worldatlas.com/rivers/the... • DamFailures.org — Glen Canyon Dam, 1983: https://damfailures.org/case-study/gl... Researched and written by The Earth Desk team. The presenter, narration and most imagery are AI-generated; historical images are illustrative reconstructions. Facts and figures are taken from the sources above. #ColoradoRiver #LakePowell #LakeMead