TAPPING THE COLORADO: Lake Powell & Lake Mead
The Colorado River has been vital to the development of the American Southwest. Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming depend on the river for water supplies, hydroelectric power, fish and wildlife habitats, and recreation. Over forty million people rely on the river's resources, and its waters irrigate 5.5 million acres of agricultural land.
Hoover Dam (completed 1936) and Glen Canyon Dam (completed 1966) form Lake Mead and Lake Powell, respectively. Together, these two reservoirs have a storage capacity of 55 million acre-feet and are essential to storing and distributing this precious resource.
For a century, we have overestimated the Colorado River's ability to meet the demands of human development. Our ever-growing urban and agricultural expansion increases the gap. Further, the American Southwest is experiencing its worst drought in 1200 years, likely exacerbated by human-caused climate change.
Water levels at Lake Powell and Lake Mead have dropped to record lows, between 22-28% of their capacities. If water levels drop further, they may reach a catastrophic "dead pool" point where Glen Canyon Dam and Hoover Dam can neither produce hydroelectric power nor transfer water downstream to keep the Colorado River flowing.
Tapping the Colorado is documenting Lake Mead and Lake Powell at this precarious and uncertain period in the human history of the Colorado River.