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State Water Profiles

Where the water crisis bites — and what each state is doing.

Profiles for the hardest-hit Western states, with severity ratings, the specific challenges each faces, and the solutions already in motion.

01

California

Critical

Megadrought, wildfire, and a 20-year supply gap.

−40%
Water cut to farms (2024)

California faces its driest two-decade stretch in 1,200 years. Snowpack decline, over-tapped aquifers in the Central Valley, and recurring wildfire-driven watershed damage threaten 39 million people and the nation's largest agricultural economy.

Challenges

  • Colorado River supply cuts under the 2007/2024 shortage guidelines
  • Central Valley aquifer overdraft causing land subsidence
  • Sierra snowpack shrinking — less natural storage each year
  • Wildfires destroying reservoirs and contaminating watersheds

Solutions

  • Expand wastewater recycling (e.g. SoCal's Pure Water program)
  • Desalination on the coast paired with strict brine management
  • Groundwater recharge using stormwater capture basins
  • Drip irrigation and deficit agriculture in the Central Valley
02

Arizona

Critical

Living on a shrinking Colorado River.

−21%
Colorado River allocation cut

Arizona draws roughly 36% of its water from the Colorado River, now at historic lows. Lake Mead and Lake Powell have hovered near 'dead pool' levels, forcing mandatory cuts to cities and the Central Arizona Project.

Challenges

  • Lake Mead elevation near 1,050 ft — first shortage tier active
  • Groundwater depletion in rural basins outside CAP service area
  • Fast population growth in Phoenix and Tucson metros
  • Drought-stressed forests increasing wildfire risk

Solutions

  • Large-scale water banking and aquifer recharge (AZ Water Bank)
  • Direct potable reuse and advanced treatment plants
  • Desalination partnership with Mexico (Sea of Cortez)
  • Mandatory low-water landscaping (xeriscaping) ordinances
03

Texas

Severe

Floods, droughts, and an aging grid.

−17%
Projected 2070 shortfall

Texas swings between extreme drought and catastrophic flood. The 2011 drought caused $7.6B in agricultural losses; Hurricane Harvey showed the opposite extreme. The state water plan projects a 17% supply shortfall by 2070 without new investment.

Challenges

  • Edwards Aquifer over-pumping threatening San Antonio supply
  • Rapid population growth outpacing reservoir construction
  • Aging rural water infrastructure with high leakage rates
  • Climate whiplash — deeper droughts, heavier downpours

Solutions

  • State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) project financing
  • Aquifer Storage & Recovery (ASR) to bank floodwater
  • Brackish groundwater desalination (vast reserves available)
  • Reservoir expansion and inter-basin transfer modernization
04

Nevada

Severe

The driest state gets smarter.

−47%
Per-capita use cut since 2002

Nevada is the nation's driest state. Las Vegas has cut per-capita water use by nearly half since 2002 despite population growth — a model for conservation-first cities.

Challenges

  • Lake Mead dependence for 90% of southern Nevada supply
  • Rapid Las Vegas metro growth
  • Limited groundwater in rural basins

Solutions

  • Grass removal rebate programs (cash-for-grass)
  • Strict indoor water reuse — nearly all wastewater returned to Lake Mead
  • Desalination equity purchases from California
  • Drought-contingency plan with Colorado River partners
05

New Mexico

Severe

Rio Grande running dry.

−25%
Snowpack decline (30 yr)

The Rio Grande has gone dry through Albuquerque in recent summers. Snowpack-fed runoff is declining, and the state is locked in compact-delivery obligations it increasingly cannot meet.

Challenges

  • Rio Grande Compact delivery shortfalls
  • Declining snowmelt in the Sangre de Cristo range
  • Rural acequia communities losing historic water rights

Solutions

  • Acequia restoration and community water sharing
  • Forest thinning to improve watershed yield
  • Municipal conservation and tiered pricing
  • Brackish desalination in the Tularosa Basin
06

Utah

Severe

Fast growth, shrinking Great Salt Lake.

Record low
Great Salt Lake level

The Great Salt Lake hit record lows, exposing toxic dust beds and threatening a billion-dollar mineral and brine-shrimp economy. Utah is also one of the fastest-growing, second-driest states.

Challenges

  • Great Salt Lake at historic low — dust and arsenic exposure
  • Wasatch snowpack decline reducing reservoir inflow
  • Rapid suburban growth along the Wasatch Front

Solutions

  • Agriculture-to-urban water leasing for the lake
  • Secondary water metering (lawn irrigation) mandates
  • Cloud seeding to boost Wasatch snowpack
  • Optimized reservoir operations and reuse