Lake Powell in Utah is one of several massive Colorado River reservoirs that could be severely depleted in the coming decades as a result of global warming, according to a new study.
Urban planners and water agencies in the southwestern United States have been warned that the region has a one in two chance of losing its primary water source by the year 2057 due to climate change.
In a University of Colorado at Boulder study just published, lead author Balaji Rajagopalan says that by mid-century there is a 50 percent chance in any given year that reservoirs along the Colorado River will run dry.
The Colorado River system provides water to agriculture and 30 million residents across a vast arid region that includes at least parts of Utah, Nevada, California and Arizona.
In 2000, reservoirs fed by the river were at 95 percent of capacity. But they have dropped to a current capacity of only 59 percent due to a decade-long drought.
The study suggests that water managers should adjust how their water supplies are used during the next few years before an only trickling Colorado River possibly forces them to.