Lake Mead Hit a Record Low. The Problem Started in 1922.

Lake Mead just fell to its lowest level since it first filled behind Hoover Dam. But the shortage did not start with this drought. It was written into a deal signed in Santa Fe in 1922. Seven states divided the Colorado River using records from one of its wettest stretches in centuries. This documentary follows that promise from the 1922 Colorado River Compact, through the building of Hoover Dam, to the cuts and record lows of today, using Bureau of Reclamation films, the signed Compact, and official federal data. The Long American History: evidence-led films about the people, decisions and systems that shaped America. CHAPTERS 00:00 The Lowest Water Since the Dam 00:51 A River Nobody Controlled 01:57 Santa Fe, November 1922 03:29 The Dam That Made the Deal Real 06:22 Promises Bigger Than the River 08:26 The Bill Comes Due 09:48 What 1922 Got Wrong, and Right KEY SOURCES Colorado River Compact, 1922 (signed original, scanned): https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/pao/pd... Colorado River Compact text, C.R.S. 37-61-101: https://colorado.public.law/statutes/... USGS Water Data Labs: Colorado River drought visualization: https://labs.waterdata.usgs.gov/visua... National Research Council (2007), Colorado River Basin Water Management, report in brief: https://wwa.colorado.edu/sites/defaul... Reclamation: Hoover Dam fatalities: https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/his... Reclamation: Hoover Dam FAQs: https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/faq... U.S. Census Bureau history: Hoover Dam (September 2025): https://www.census.gov/about/history/... Reclamation: Mexican Water Treaty of 1944 and Arizona's 1944 ratification: https://www.usbr.gov/lc/phoenix/AZ100... Reclamation: Colorado River Post-2026 Operations: https://www.usbr.gov/ColoradoRiverBas... Reclamation Lower Colorado daily operations: Lake Mead elevation, September 2026: https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/... Congressional Research Service R45546, Management of the Colorado River (updated May 19, 2026): https://www.everycrsreport.com/report... Water Education Foundation, Aquapedia: Colorado River Compact: https://www.watereducation.org/aquape... University of Arizona WRRC, Sharing Colorado River Water: History, Public Policy and the Colorado River Compact: https://wrrc.arizona.edu/publication/... Reclamation AZ100: Arizona v. California and the Central Arizona Project: https://www.usbr.gov/lc/phoenix/AZ100... Reclamation History: The Boulder Canyon Project, Hoover Dam: https://www.usbr.gov/history/hoover.html National Park Service: Lake Mead history and culture: https://www.nps.gov/lake/learn/histor... Reclamation: Lake Mead end-of-month elevations (historical table): https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/... NASA Earth Observatory: Lake Mead Keeps Dropping: https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-... Wyoming v. Colorado, 259 U.S. 419 (1922): https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremeco... ARCHIVAL FILM AND IMAGES Boulder Dam, U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (1930s): https://archive.org/details/tmp_Bould... The Story of Hoover Dam, Bureau of Reclamation / National Archives: https://archive.org/details/gov.archi... Colorado Plateau, Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, Ford Educational Library (1919) / National Archives: https://archive.org/details/fc-fc-352 Lake Mead Recedes, 1985-2025, and Las Vegas 1972-2021: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio, Landsat. Lake Powell, May 2014: NASA / Landsat 8. Drought on Lake Mead, June 2010: U.S. Geological Survey. Supreme Court, 1921: Harris & Ewing / Library of Congress. Herbert Hoover: National Archives. Elwood Mead, 1928: Underwood & Underwood / Library of Congress. Maps: Natural Earth. All-American Canal route: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Later-era footage is labeled on screen; it is not footage of the current drought. Wind and water sounds on silent archival footage are added sound design. MUSIC 'Incredulity' and 'Phoenix' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au Starlight on the Water (Chris Haugen), Growing Up (Nate Blaze), Recollections (Asher Fulero): YouTube Audio Library. #LakeMead #ColoradoRiver #AmericanHistory