YUMA, AZ — Yuma County, Arizona, dubbed the nation's "salad bowl," produces 90% of the leafy greens Americans eat during the winter months. This agricultural powerhouse spans over 180,000 acres of farmland in an area that receives just three to four inches of rain annually.
The desert farming production is only possible because of Colorado River water.
"We need this water. Colorado River water. We're in a desert — we don't get very much rainfall. We need this water to grow our crops," said Matt McGuire, a Yuma farmer.
Yuma's farmers use about 700,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water every year, enough to fill 345,000 Olympic swimming pools.
McGuire has been farming the desert since the 1980s, when water scarcity wasn't a major concern.
"When I first started, when I was young, the lakes were full, plenty of snow," McGuire said.
But starting in the early 2000s, hundreds of miles north at Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir, signs of drought began to appear.
Lake Mead sits on the Nevada-Arizona border and was created by the Hoover Dam. It is fed entirely by the Colorado River and also supplies Las Vegas with 90% of its water.
Vegas locals like James Wilson come out to Lake Mead to fish, boat, and hike. Every time he heads out to the Lake and sees the dropping water levels, it’s a reminder to conserve.
"I'm very conscious about the water in my apartment. I use just what I need, you know, I try to help," Wilson said.
In Echo Bay, a popular fishing spot, the area where he can drop a fishing line continues to change.
"We notice when we come up here, sometimes the water is way up here, then other times it's way down there," Wilson said.
Early next year, a final draft is expected to be in place detailing how Arizona, Nevada, and five other western states will share Colorado River water moving forward.
Kyle Roerink is the Director of the Great Basin Water Network, a watchdog group tracking the dwindling resource.
"If you were here at the start of the 21st century, you could launch your boat from right here where I am standing," Roerink said from an old boat launch now hundreds of yards away from the water line.
Everywhere around Lake Mead is stark evidence of declining water levels, most noticeably the prominent "bathtub ring" marking previous water heights.
"We have much lighter colors at elevations that were once underwater. And when you're above those elevations, they're much darker because the water wasn't there," Roerink said.
By looking closer, there are boats that sank years ago, which are now re-exposed. On the ground are seashells that used to be underwater.
"We see all the signs of change here, and it's something we're only going to continue to see in the years to come," Roerink said.
Despite decreasing water levels, communities in the Southwest continue to grow, putting additional pressure on state negotiators who will decide the future of the river. For Roerink, the solution is straightforward.
"It's actually basic math. There's not enough water in the system to use more. We have to cut, we have to use less," Roerink said.
The Colorado River's power transformed Yuma into the country's lettuce capital.
“Where do you feed the people their winter vegetables if you cut off the water?” McGuire said.
It also made Las Vegas grow into the iconic city it is today.
"All those casinos, they'll fly water in if they have to. They ain't gonna let this place go dry," Wilson said.
The decisions made this year aren't just about sustaining the southwest and the economies the river has built; they're about whether this critical resource can be shared responsibly.
"It's what brings us together, but it can also be what tears us apart," Roerink said.
State negotiators will meet in Las Vegas this winter for the annual Colorado River Water Users Association Conference.
A final deal is supposed to be shared with the public by February 14 to be reviewed, with the new approved plan taking effect on October 1 of next year.
Arizona’s state negotiator is Tom Buschatzke, who works for the Arizona Department of Water Resources. Any deal agreed upon by the states still also needs to be approved by state lawmakers.
