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Extreme drought pushes 2 major U.S. lakes to historic lows

27 July 2021
Dan Ackermann

Two significant U.S. lakes, one of which is a major reservoir, are experiencing historic lows amid a drought that scientists have linked to climate change.

What's happening: Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in the U.S., has fallen 3,554 feet in elevation, leaving the crucial reservoir on the Colorado River, at 33% capacity — the lowest since it was filled over half a century ago, new U.S. Bureau of Reclamation data shows.

Great Salt Lake has reached the new historic low according to USGS. GSL has been declining for some time; current #drought has accelerated its fall. The previous record was set in 1963 at 4191.4. USGS maintains records back to 1847. https://t.co/9GZuOLRuTTpic.twitter.com/b3hNdZlpN2

— Utah Water Resources (@UTAHSavesH2O) July 24, 2021
  • Utah's Great Salt Lake, the biggest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere, saw levels plunge in the south roughly an inch below the previous record low of 4,191.4ft above sea level, set in 1963, the U.S. Geological Survey announced Saturday.
  • Wildlife is already ex, birds and shrimp in particular.

Threat level: Utah Department of Natural Resources executive director Brian Steed noted in a statement that while the state's lake has been gradually declining for some time, "current drought conditions have accelerated its fall to this new historic low."

  • USGS Utah Water Science Center data chief Ryan Rowland wrote that based on current trends and historical data, it's anticipated that "water levels may decline an additional foot over the next several months."
  • A major threat to Lake Powell, on the Utah-Arizona border line, is that demand for water across seven U.S. and two Mexican states "that rely on the Colorado River has not declined fast enough to match the reduced supply," noted Brad Udall, a climate scientist at Colorado State University, to Cronkite News.
  • "The hard lesson we're learning about climate change is that it’s not a gradual, slow descent to a new state of affairs," Udall added.

The big picture: Lakes across the country are under strain from a mega-drought.

  • 95% of the West is experiencing drought conditions — and over 28% is facing exceptional drought, according to the U.S. drought monitor.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.