The Vanishing River: USA's Mega Drought | Foreign Correspondent

Published 2022-09-08
The once mighty Colorado River is in trouble. Stretching from the snowy peaks of the Rocky Mountains all the way down to the Sea of Cortez in Mexico, its’ waters are a lifeline to tens of millions of people. Subscribe: ab.co/3yqPOZ5

But the pressures of the decades-long megadrought in America’s Southwest and a warming planet mean the water levels in the river and its dams are dropping.

“I’m not going to say it’s too late, but we are in true crisis’, says renowned river scientist, Professor Jack Schmidt.

The pressures on the river are largely man-made.

The building of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s tamed the waters of this once wild river, harnessing its flows to make hydropower and feed a massive agricultural industry across the Southwest.

But the water was over allocated from the start. Now as dam levels drop to their lowest ever, the survival of farms and industries are threatened.

‘I feel every day of my life that my son will not be able to share in this magnificence …and the beauty of this profession’, says Jace Miller, an Arizona farmer of five generations.

He grows feed for livestock, but next year, his water allocation will be cut to zero.

US correspondent Barbara Miller travels along this spectacular river to meet the communities whose livelihoods depend on it.

Miller rafts down the Colorado rapids with the Native American tribe which depends on tourism for a dollar.

She visits the thriving desert city of Las Vegas, which has become a US leader in urban water conservation.

And there’s a silver lining. As waters in the dam reservoirs recede, natural wonders which were flooded for decades are emerging.

‘We’re seeing this flowing waterfall and this trickling creek. We’re seeing the vegetation start to come back’, says environmentalist Eric Balken.

The vanishing river is a wake-up call for all those who depend on it.

‘We just pretended the Colorado River is just a check account’, says Professor Schmidt. ‘There are gonna be limits…and we’re gonna have to deal with them.’

Read more here: ab.co/3QFuULD

About Foreign Correspondent:

Foreign Correspondent is the prime-time international public affairs program on Australia's national broadcaster, ABC-TV. We produce half-hour duration in-depth reports for broadcast across the ABC's television channels and digital platforms. Since 1992, our teams have journeyed to more than 170 countries to report on war, natural calamity and social and political upheaval – through the eyes of the people at the heart of it all.

Watch more ABC News content ad-free on iview: ab.co/2OB7Mk1

For more from ABC News, click here: ab.co/2kxYCZY

Get breaking news and livestreams from our ABC News channel: youtube.com/user/NewsOnABC
Like ABC News on Facebook: facebook.com/abcnews.au
Follow ABC News on Instagram: instagram.com/abcnews_au
Follow ABC News on Twitter: twitter.com/abcnews

Contributions may be removed if they violate ABC’s Online Terms of Use www.abc.net.au/conditions.htm (Section 3). This is an official Australian Broadcasting Corporation YouTube channel

All Comments (21)
  • @daved6464
    This is the definition of insanity.
    You know you have a water problem but you still keep building new homes.
  • @kennyw871
    Never underestimate the ability of the American people to deny the reality hiding in plain sight.
  • The desert was Never meant to be farmed or lived in such a unsustainable way. People wake up!
  • @DanLee1969
    You did a better job covering this than most of the local news has. Good job.
  • @graces5634
    Hard to believe a desert can't support 40 million people and CA agriculture anymore
  • @mattmccue3897
    "It's not the American way to deal with limits."
    Sounds about right.
  • @kespo5358
    How embarrassing that the states are fighting for golf courses and new housing developments when the tribes don't even have running water. I'd like to see people in those developments haul their water and boil it every day and see how long that lasts.
  • @mray8519
    Los Vegas leaders in their wisdom just restricted the size of NEW swimming pools. Phoenix leaders in their finest moment issued 21,000+ building permits in 2021.
  • @x5775
    Large agricultural systems and huge golf courses were NEVER meant to be placed in a DESERT!
  • @MOMGEN1
    It's almost like the region isn't designed for this type of living.
  • I live in Arizona this report does a tremendous job in illustrating the water and power issues we’re dealing with. Thank You
  • I read recently that California and Arizona might be looking to "purchase power" from PGE here in OREGON. This will put pressure on OUR water systems, and our River systems. I think this is foolish.

    My sister and I do some heavy conservation in our own home to keep our electric bill down--and we use a lot of battery powered lighting, and modified our diets to more vegetarianism. Cattle, pigs, and such takes much more water and energy to raise than for crops. WE need to use less water while showering. I am allergic to chlorine, so I cannot even take a shower. I physically take sink baths. Every 6 weeks I use 1-2 gallons of water to wash my hair. Every three to four days I use about one quart of water to take a sink bath! I do not stink. Been doing this now for 2 years. WE no longer use a dishwasher, but use same utensils all day. WE each have ONE plate, one cup for all day. I have to get WELL WATER from my church for cleaning and washing. We live like the pioneers did in the old days. WE use much less water. I think all these conveniences use too much water, and we get too spoiled.
  • @twoprop8734
    My wife and I have been going down to this area since 1989. When we first went down to Las Vegas and travelled out to the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead it was mind blowing all that water in the desert. Over the years we have travelled all over the south west from San Diego to the Grand Canyon and seen the growth in the cities and towns but what amazed me was the development and extent of the farming in this area. Two years ago we travelled from Las Vegas to Nogales stopping at Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and Lake Havasu and couldn't believe the drop in water levels. Viewing this video reaffirms what I often wondered, how this could be sustainable. The Arizona area use to sustain a large population of Native Americans that had a well developed society with canals and water control that disappeared. It was suspected that there was an extended period of drought that caused the society to collapse. Seems history is repeating itself. I hope the people in this area can come to grips with the fact that living within the environment and not controlling it will be the answer to this dilemma.
  • @b.a.d.2086
    I'm 78 and have lived in the same Utah town all my life. I remember the wonders of a wild Colorado River. I remember dense, clean fog from the Great Salt Lake. I remember how even in dry years the orchards and large vegetable gardens thrived and water went out to the wildlife refuges and the lake. The air was clean. Then the deluge of people came and all the beauty, prosperity and quiet gave way to "Growth" and the clean desert became polluted and paved over. The Great Salt Lake is nearly gone and toxic everything has replaced it. It makes me very sad but I have faith in nature. Nothing is forever just as a cloud never dies.
  • Sadly, after 30 years, I sold my mom's house (she passed) in Phoenix to go to sustainable land and water (also where rain harvest is good) with lakes, natural springs, rivers, etc- a place of refuge for my family to follow. I figured most people put their head in the sand regarding the water crisis until it was all over the news. Once it is all over the news, this can make it difficult to move. Who wants to live where there is no water? I was called rash but now as a creek runs through my acres (which cost way less than a house in Phoenix or up north even) with deer and wild turkeys too, I'm thinking I made a good move. I also considered out of the city and less than national average crime rate in constitutional country.
  • I moved to Southern California in 2010 from the South East, I was blown away by how many people lived there and took water for granted. In just 3 years water was being rationed, grass being replaced by desert landscape. I saw a big crack on the wall and moved back near the mountains of NC. Before I moved I visited the Hoover Dam, in 2012, it freaked me out then, I can’t imagine what will happen when the Dam goes Deadpool, because it will. As beautiful as the desert is, it’s no place to live.
    If you live in the Western states get out now. It may be only another 10 years or less, but There will be a mass migration from California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah to name a few, your homes will drop in value overnight. The Government should have started building Desalination Plants in the 1960s.
    To late now, the Salton Sea is a good example of an inland Sea, a nightmare.
    I would sell now & move east of the Mississippi River, stay way from Florida & Louisiana and the Coast.
    Good Luck.
  • It was a pleasure getting to speak with Barbara in regards to this water issue that is crippling the southwest. The more people are informed the quicker we can find solutions that help all of us here in the southwest.
  • @steven4315
    The region is going to have to learn live within it's means.
  • @l.w.4701
    Interesting; farmers that support our lives put behind cities who want to keep watering lawns… pretty crazy.