There should be enough water in the Colorado River to meet the demands of Southwestern states, including Arizona, and Mexico for the next year. That could change by late next year, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.
The Bureau released a report Wednesday on the health of the river and its biggest reservoir — Lake Mead.
The report repeated earlier warnings that a long trend toward a drier regional climate coupled with rising demand could drain so much water from Lake Mead that cutbacks would be mandatory.
The forecast says there should be enough water for 13 months, but an imminent shortage could trigger cutbacks in late 2019.
Lake Mead serves 40 million people and 6,300 square miles of farmland.
Mexico, Arizona and Nevada would be hit first. California, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah also rely on the river.
