A river runs through it

A report, looking at the next 50 years of water consumption in the Southwest region, found that the Colorado River will not be able to sustain the states that depend on it. This comes as little surprise to Nevada water scientists (“Trickle down,” Dec. 6), who are looking at alternatives to keep Nevada’s water supply stable, such as desalination and better conservation measures.

The Colorado River, which supplies water to nearly 40 million people in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming, has already dropped to 12 million acre feet from 15 million acre feet as a result of the decade-long drought. The report found that water levels would drop an additional 3.2 million acre feet—a total of 8 million acre feet less than required to sustain the growing Southwest population.

The report was released shortly after similar discussions were held at the Great Basin Water Forum, an organization comprised of Nevada, Utah and California, and in the midst of the proposed water pipeline, which would transport water from rural Nevada to Clark County.