Back in May, Lake Mead had already dropped to 1,050 feet above sea level, which was 25 feet below its critical level of 1,075 feet. The huge reservoir, held in place by Hoover Dam, was just below 1,040 feet as of August 13. When the lake level falls to 1,035 feet, Hoover Dam will have to cut its power generation by 70 percent.

Upstream on the Colorado River, Lake Powell, held by Glen Canyon Dam, is at 3,520.37 feet, 179.63 feet below full. The lake holds just 22.6 percent of full capacity and is predicted to remain at near historic lows. The water level is just 30.37 feet above the minimum depth below which Glen Canyon Dam would have to restrict generating hydroelectric power.

Glen Canyon Dam’s eight generators normally provide about 5 billion kilowatt-hours of electric power (as much as 1,320 megawatts) to about 5 million people, including 53 tribes, across six states. Hoover Dam’s generators serve about 1.3 million people and businesses in California, Arizona, and Nevada.

Lake Mead provides irrigation and municipal water that supports about 30 million people and supports crop production across more than 5 million acres of farmland that helps grow food for an estimated 60 percent of the United States.

As Lake Powell is primarily a storage reservoir that releases water downstream, most direct large-scale irrigation diversions happen downstream via river intakes, canals, and projects. The combined contents of Lakes Powell and Mead have not been this low since before Glen Canyon Dam began filling in 1963; since 2000, water use has exceeded total system inflow in most years.

The dual water-power crisis prompted the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation........

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