Millions at risk of power and water shortages as two of the nation's largest reservoirs on the brink of "dead pool status," U.N. warns
CBSN
Millions of people in the Western U.S. are at risk of seeing reduced access to both water and power as two of the nation's biggest reservoirs continue to dry up inch by inch. The United Nations issued a warning on Tuesday that the water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell are at their lowest ever and are getting perilously close to reaching "dead pool status."
Such a status means that the water levels are so low that water can't flow downstream to power hydroelectric stations.
At Lake Mead, located in Nevada and Arizona, the country's largest artificial body of water, levels have gotten so low that it's essentially become a graveyard – human remains, dried-out fish and a sunken boat dating back to World War II have so far been revealed from underneath the now shallow waters. The walls of the lake are divided by two contrasting colors that reveal the line at which the water once sat.
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