Nevada responds to first ever federally-declared shortage on the Colorado River

Climate change-fueled drought conditions have led the federal government to issue a water shortage declaration on the Colorado River, a move that will reduce the amount of water Southern Nevada will be allowed to withdraw from Lake Mead beginning in January 2022. Combined with existing water reductions outlined in the Drought Contingency Plan, the declared shortage will cut Southern Nevada’s annual water allocation by nearly 7 billion gallons of water next year – enough to serve more than 40,000 Las Vegas Valley households for a year. Colby Pellegrino, Deputy General Manager of Resources for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, joins the Water Smarts Podcast on episode 14 to discuss how Nevada is responding to the first ever federally-declared shortage on the Colorado River.