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Transcript/ScriptWORLD WATER DAY DROUGHT - US WEST
HEADLINE: Key Reservoir Hits Record Low in US West
TEASER: Lake Powell is in danger of losing hydropower generation capacity as drought continues to drain the Colorado River.
PUBLISHED AT: (3/21/22 & 5:57p)
BYLINE: Steve Baragona
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE:
VIDEOGRAPHER:
VIDEO EDITOR: Steve Baragona
SCRIPT EDITORS: Bowman, MPage
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, AP,
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:19
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO))
[[Two decades of drought in the western United States has pushed the nation's second-largest reservoir to record lows. Lake Powell, in the arid Southwest, is in danger of dropping too low for turbines in the reservoir's dam to produce electricity that helps power millions of homes. It's part of a worsening picture for water supplies in the American West linked to climate change. VOA's Steve Baragona has more.]]
((VIDEO: GLEN CANYON DAM / DRY LAKE POWELL))
((NARRATOR))
Arizona's Glen Canyon Dam delivers hydroelectric power to 5 million customers in seven states. But that clean, renewable electricity is under threat. Water levels are dangerously low after more than 20 years of drought.
[[Radio track: Jennifer Gimbel, head of the Colorado Water Center at Colorado State University, via Skype.]]
((Mandatory CG: Skype logo))
((Jennifer Gimbel, Colorado State University))
"A drought sounds like that means we'll get over it. We're not going to get over this. This is climate change in action."
((VIDEO: DESERT / COLORADO RIVER))
((NARRATOR))
The warming climate is making the arid America West even drier. And it's shrinking the most important water source in the West: the Colorado River.
[[Radio track: says water expert Michael Cohen with the Pacific Institute, via Skype.]]
((Mandatory CG: Skype logo))
((Michael Cohen, Pacific Institute))
"Without this water supply — this regular, dependable, secure water supply — the West would not have developed."
((VIDEO: VEGAS SKYLINE / LA SKYLINE / FARM IRRIGATION))
((NARRATOR))
Major cities including Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego drink from the Colorado. It sustains about 40 million people in all.
And it irrigates more than 2 million hectares of farmland.
((Mandatory CG: Skype logo))
((Michael Cohen, Pacific Institute))
"It's a multibillion dollar economic engine that is becoming less and less reliable. We thought this water was going to be here and it's increasingly not."
((VIDEO: COLORADO CANAL))
((NARRATOR))
Water experts predicted that climate change would stress the river.
((Mandatory CG: Skype logo))
((Jennifer Gimbel, Colorado State University))
"What we didn't see coming was how fast it was going to decline. And that's the alarm bells that are going off right now."
((VIDEO: ARIZONA FARMS))
((NARRATOR))
Arizona farmers took their first-ever water supply cuts last year.
Agriculture uses about 70% of the river's water.
Farmers are under increasing pressure from growing cities that demand more water. It's a source of friction between urban and rural areas.
((Mandatory CG: Skype logo))
((Michael Cohen, Pacific Institute))
"Cities would simply buy out farming communities' water supply and then take that water and say, 'We're creating more economic value with it in the city.' But that doesn't make any difference to the people living in those rural communities who see their livelihood go away."
((VIDEO: FARM DRIP IRRIGATION / WATER TREATMENT PLANT))
((NARRATOR))
Many farms are getting more water-efficient to lower their demands.
Cities are also trying to make more efficient use of water.
((Mandatory CG: Skype logo))
((Michael Cohen, Pacific Institute))
"In many cities, despite tremendous economic and population growth, they're using less water than they did 20, 30 years ago. So, what we're seeing in a lot of these cities is this conservation ethic. So that's been a major shift."
((VIDEO: DRY LAKE MEAD))
((NARRATOR))
But it's not enough. The reservoirs keep dropping. And weather forecasters predict another dry year.
As climate change deepens and Western cities keep growing, experts say even bigger changes are needed. And soon.
STEVE BARAGONA, VOA NEWS.
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMarch 21, 2022 18:48 EDT
BylineSTEVE BARAGONA, VOA NEWS.
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
