Drought Worsens: Western Rancher Relocates 80% of Cattle Herd as 200 of His Reservoirs Run Dry
Not Enough Water 062221
Water levels are extremely low at Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the country. The lake that spans across Arizona and Nevada is the primary water supply for millions of people. The drought issue is also crippling ranchers ability to find enough water for livestock.
CNN reporter Stephanie Elam saw first-hand the impacts when she interviewed T.J. Atkin, a cattle rancher in Arizona and Utah. He says he's never seen anything like this, and most ranchers in his area says it's the worst they've seen in at least 85 years.
"I can't control mother nature," said Atkin.
The current dryness is more punishing than anything he's ever seen.
"How long has it been since you've had any meaningful rain here," asked Elam. "In the last 15 months combined, we are barely at three inches of precipitation," responded Atkin.
With an annual rainfall of 9 inches of rain over 12 months, Atkin says his multi-generation cattle ranch
has raised cattle on the same 210,000 acres in northwestern Arizona for decades.
"I either got to haul water or I've got to take them to town and feed them for the next three months," the cattle rancher explained.
Dwindling Down the Herd
Atkin drove the CNN crew out to the rugged, arid terrain of his ranch. With temperatures well above 100 degrees, Elam said there were just a few signs of life until some of his cows came into view.
The cattle herd is smaller than normal, as there's not enough water this year to sustain them all.
"I've relocated 80% already," says Atkin. "I've sold some of them."
Atkin's water woes aren't his alone. The U.S. Drought Monitor map paints Arizona in shades of red, with Atkin's ranch sitting deep within that crimson red.
"We have about 200 reservoirs, and every one of them is dry right now," he says. "We don't have a drop in any one of them, and we've never done that in 85 years."
Atkin's operation is in the Colorado River Basin, which is primarily fed by melting snowpack from the western Rocky Mountains. The river then winds down to the Gulf of California, supplying water to seven states along the way. But the basin is now in its 22nd year of drought.
Drought's Impact on the Power Grid
And at the Nevada, Arizona border, the river flows into Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the nation which 25 million people depend on for water.
"It hasn't, not since filling in 1937," said Mike Bernardo, Lower Colorado Basin River Operations Manager. "So, we are anticipating the lower basin to be in the first ever shortage condition in history."
In fact, Lake Mead is 143-feet below full capacity and has shed a mindboggling 5.5 trillion gallons of water in the last 20 years. Those low water levels mean power generation at the Hoover Dam is down 25%.
"No one can really tell with any certainty, but we can all hope that the future will be wetter," said Bernardo.
Future Concerns
For his part, Atkin is hoping for a wet monsoon season this summer to replenish his dry ponds and keep his cattle business afloat.
"We could catch more water in one week than we've gotten in three years," said Atkin.
If not he predicts the entire country will be impacted by this unprecedented Western drought.
"It's such a large area, it's almost half of the United States," he said. "If this goes one more year, it will have a huge effect on everyone."
