Lake Mead, near the Arizona-Utah state line, is where the shortage was declared. Arizona farmers are being hit with water cuts as a result. Millions of Americans rely on the Colorado River system for water and hydroelectric power. Bureau of Reclamation statistics show Lake Mead is just 35% full.

The first-ever shortage declaration on the Colorado River forces arid Western states to re-examine their relationship with resources many take for granted, drinking water and cheap hydroelectricity.

A combination in Colorado of paltry spring snow, warmer temperatures that triggered earlier melting of winter mountain snowpack, feeble rain through summer, and parched soil from previous dry years led to this formal label.

One morning in mid-February, David Herz went to turn on the faucet in his farmhouse outside the small western Colorado town of Paonia, and nothing came…

Colorado Springs' housing boom is expanding into nearby cities, like Fountain. But new homes require water — and there are currently fewer than 9,000 taps to Fountain’s water supply.