Colorado River Water Shortage for Western States Foreseen in U.S. Study

FireShot Screen Capture #005 - 'Colorado River Water Shortage for Western States Foreseen in U_S_ Study - Government - Poway, CA Patch' - poway_patch_com_groups_politics-and-elections_p_colorado-river-water-shortage-fThis story was reported for Patch on Dec. 12, 2012.

The Colorado River won’t be able to support the growing population of Western states including California, says a federal study released Wednesday.

The study—conducted by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation over the course of three years—says the river will be an estimated 3.2 million acre-feet short of meeting demand by 2060.

The shortage amount would support roughly 3 million households.

The study—which examines how Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming will be affected—projects that 76.5 million people will rely on the Colorado River Basin by 2060.

Currently, 40 million people benefit from the river.

Read the full story on Patch.com or click on the picture to the right.