The Colorado River watershed has been experiencing a long term drought and the snow pack in the Rockies is nearly at an all time low this year:
(The graph shows the snowpack history and the black line shows this year’s status)
Lake Powell and Lake Mead are approaching all time lows and it is forecast that by 2027 Lake Mead will have to shutdown 83% of its generation capability. Not only will water rationing be implemented further but power generation to Arizona, Nevada and Southern California will be restricted. This demand for power will be made up, at least in the short term, by natural gas plants and continued operation of coal fired plants exacerbating CO2 emissions.
Watch this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbYXL8Rjono