With Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs in Washington today to make sure State 48 gets a fair share of Colorado River water, states out west are still deadlocked when it comes to how the river will be divided up - even as we get closer to that Valentine's Day deadline.
Recently, ABC15's Nick Ciletti traveled to the Hoover Dam, where water levels remain critically low; by many estimates, the dam is at about a third of its maximum capacity.
Without the Hoover Dam, life in large western cities like Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas would look much different since the dam has enabled the West to really surge in growth in all senses of the word.
Currently, Arizona is allotted 2.8 million acre-feet of Colorado River water each year - that equals more than 900 billion gallons!
When Nick was at the Hoover Dam, he spoke to tourists, some of whom had concerns about the water levels.
"It's interesting to see how the water level has come down a bit," says Pamela Alvarez, who was traveling from Southern California. "We were at the marina, and the boat drop-offs were about 30, 50, or 100 feet lower in some points."
"It does concern us," says Paul Gorski, also traveling from Southern California. "With all the development, how much does that impact the water level? And is it ever going to get back to the maximum level? And how long would that take?"
According to the Bureau of Reclamation, enough water passes through the Hoover Dam's generators to fill 15 standard-size swimming pools every second, which equals 300,000 gallons.
The Bureau of Reclamation also says that when you drink tap water at places like Disneyland and Sea World San Diego, that water comes from the Colorado River and Lake Mead, which is the largest reservoir in the entire country.
