Western States Endure Fifth Year Of Drought

BOULDER CITY, NV - SEPTEMBER 24: A white "bathtub ring" encircles Lake Mead near the 395-foot-tall intake towers of Hoover Dam as the lake continues falling to historic low levels on September 24, 2004 near Boulder City, Nevada. The fast-growing population of the desert city of Las Vegas could face a serious water shortage problem if the five-year-old Western drought continues to shrink the Colorado River. The seven states sharing the Colorado River are considering a plan to protect Lake Powell by cutting the amount of water released downstream to Lake Mead, the primary water supply for Las Vegas. The drought has left the two massive reservoirs that catch the Colorado River less than half full, exposing long-submerged landscapes to direct sunlight for the first time in decades and officials fear that the levels will fall too low to turn the electric turbines that produce electricity. The river provides water for 25 million people, millions of acres of farmland, and an assortment of endangered and other animals. It could take a 10-year run of average rain and snow to refill the reservoirs. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)