'That would be insane': CNN anchor stunned by 'ticking time bomb' threatening millions
A crisis potentially facing millions of unaware Americans stunned CNN analysts Thursday who described the looming problem as "major" and "insane."
The problem? Two key U.S. reservoirs has fallen to a historic low, threatening the water supply for tens of millions of Americans, CNN reported.
Last week Lake Powell fell to 3,524 feet and Lake Mead to just under 1,043 feet, breaking a record set in March 2023, CNN's Bill Weir reported.
The Colorado River, which irrigates more than 5 million acres of farmland, generates electricity to power about 700,000 homes and provides water to 40 million people, could be impacted, said Weir.
"The main concernhere is drinking water," Weir said. "It's beenover-allocated – states are loathto give up their share. Lowerbasin states like Nevada havedone a good job about conservingwater, like ripping up lawns inthe desert and really conservingit. They want other states to dothe same – a lot of tension. They all blew past thefederal deadline in February tocome up with a new plan, sonobody knows what happens next."
Lake Powell is currently 23 percent full, at its lowest level on record for July, and Lake Mead is 27 percent full, less than a foot from its all-time low in July 2022.
"I am afraid to ask, but whatis a worst case scenario here?" CNN's Kate Bolduan asked.
"So at a certain point it canno longer generate electricityand the dam is essentiallybecomes a dead pool," Weir replied. "So you canrelease a little bit of water, but the Colorado River would dry up entirely next summer if thishappens, if we reach thesewarnings."
"That would be insane," Bolduan interjected.
"Exactly," Weir agreed, "This is amajor, major problem, andbecause most people, they turnon the tap water comes out, theydon't think about they're askedto conserve. Maybe don't washyour car on a hot day, but this is a ticking time bomb."
"Bill, you're freaking meout," added co-host Sara Sidner. "Sheesh!"
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