First-ever water cuts declared for Colorado River in historic drought

The federal government declared a water shortage on the Colorado River for the first time, triggering mandatory water consumption cuts for states in the Southwest, as climate change-fueled drought pushes the level in Lake Mead to unprecedented lows.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2021

The Colorado River Basin is divided into the Upper (Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and northern Arizona) and Lower Basins (parts of Nevada, Arizona, California, southwestern Utah and western New Mexico).

The entire Colorado river system is managed with a series of dams and canals to regulate flood control, water conservation and hydropower benefits.

In the Lower Basin, the Hoover Dam controls floods and regulates water delivery and storage. Apart from the Hoover dam, there is the Davis Dam, Parker Dam and the Imperial Dam that regulate the release of water from the Hoover Dam.

Water is released from these dams and used by residents in California, Nevada, Arizona and Mexico.