Record Western Snowpack Buys Time for Agreement on Managing Region's Depleted Water Supply

Major winter storms in the western states left the Rocky Mountains with one of the largest snow packs on record. As that snow melts it's expected to help the depleted reservoirs of the Colorado River, which provides water for 7 states. The Colorado River feeds Lakes Powell and Mead, the nation's largest reservoirs, serving 40 million Americans across the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico. It would be a catastrophe if the water stopped flowing. Last year, as the reservoirs began to reach dangerously low levels, the federal government stepped in, ordering those states to significantly reduce water use.