![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/SCRXVVJHZNFZNDYGZNWXQCTAXA.jpg?smart=true&auth=5ad51df258bb9cb3c6ebd7b27952ecfd194036c9406d7d5223bc2ec4670ae49e&width=400&height=225)
A stretch of the Colorado River, near the river’s headwaters.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/GLP54FEO5FHENNL2GLOC3V5RBY.jpg?smart=true&auth=59e1391eabbba9d915d9990b5c49ed465c33f246c5d9e83af8ae26dc4a3228be&width=400&height=225)
An aerial shot of a depleted reservoir on Grand Mesa outside Grand Junction, Colorado. Janie VanWinkle relies on the reservoir to feed her cattle.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/7VW5IPENZREINIPPQEHOGP767E.jpg?smart=true&auth=511c125c522103c584956d5e4847e2e23b33bf822e52dac71569458c8eb0e0e8&width=400&height=225)
An aerial view of Frank Nieslanik’s farm. On one side of the road, the fields have been irrigated. On the other, they haven’t.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/XPHPEQUH5JBKPOQWONUM3DKJFA.jpg?smart=true&auth=bf0bc73f510cfad873864987b521959b45f0b160cbe891a61538ab3e92085a1e&width=400&height=225)
Lake Granby in Colorado is part of the headwaters that feed the Colorado River.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/XIRQI4D6UBFWLH6YLPIIYEGJK4.jpg?smart=true&auth=167ffc507a09b1965825abea83a98f22f8c8f41543f5515b02e5cde6310d5f86&width=400&height=225)
An aerial view of Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/RHDISEO64VFK3HK3HXSLMVAWD4.jpg?smart=true&auth=4e1016a3dbe713e6fa312b4c6ccd10618dea0c3936641b9b9a820c0c9402d4f4&width=400&height=225)
An aerial shot of Janie VanWinkle’s ranch shows how dry conditions have become. Down the hill, where the grass is green, shows the difference irrigation makes.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/TNAYUWTFB5BGTNKWQKW3BELQH4.jpg?smart=true&auth=e0baf64aa090f385c4c9e3e75cd08d0ed68f5b78af12ee7b4ee244906a67b197&width=400&height=225)
Frank Nieslanik poses next to produce grown on his farm. He’s farmed the land for 30 years and has never seen it so dry.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/FK5B3V7S4VEE7CRZEUBLFUFDDU.jpg?smart=true&auth=d669de3653949bae08516322095f9a9e8bef95ceb7d57dcf6be8a51b60b657a3&width=400&height=225)
An aerial view of an irrigation canal on Frank Nieslanik’s farm shows the difference water makes to crops.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/GEGF7LONLRBVRKHPVCI2B5IIJI.jpg?smart=true&auth=543f4373c2789af1a24deae1e85cadc39c2bd0d5da6ddae8173447f2c32c1dc3&width=400&height=225)
Farm workers sow a field at Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Colorado River has been in a drought for 22 years, putting stress on the state’s farmers.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/3EY3UXCD2BCOBHYGCGKR2FSCA4.jpg?smart=true&auth=dd1abef50de013178c7bf29c72a2b9dbb69466366f940956255aaf8fe46bb1d1&width=400&height=225)
An aerial shot of Janie VanWinkle’s ranch outside Grand Junction, Colorado, shows how dry conditions have become.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/TG76EPOZXNFUHP3TORV5GBYFKY.jpg?smart=true&auth=f945a3e551daed38e45c00b3d026716cca202ba89d5985ccfbc8897538f51570&width=400&height=225)
Keith Musselman, a scientist at the University of Colorado’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, looks out towards the continental divide.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/XUG34GRRFVE3FGN4MVKDPOHD3Q.jpg?smart=true&auth=0d1a26d13f0330677f824171a80408ffe9d086cf11d139d315dc5627594e10c3&width=400&height=225)
Produce from Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Colorado River has been in a drought for 22 years, putting stress on the state’s farmers.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/LREBPQDC5JHQXBX5HI2TLA4JQU.jpg?smart=true&auth=b87e28a46cd4dc78bd85ed5b4f5f946e160873f0b218922981aecb67388e4f88&width=400&height=225)
A view from the top of Grand Mesa overlooking the dry Western Slope of Colorado. In July, the state’s governor declared a drought emergency.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/BQPCOFDFUJF5LE26ECV7EAJBUQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=3e11537da26cab6047628209c28bc99e43f1a42ef3e24ea555b18c8e3041b5f8&width=400&height=225)
Janie VanWinkle drives a tractor as she collects hay for her cows. The drought has meant she needs more hay than usual to keep her cattle healthy.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/NWFUIQ43CRD4VK2ALUBWUY6MQI.jpg?smart=true&auth=de04acbb6c6b3711e41d6e06688ce5bf935408eb6b0b58de9c18552c673ee1bc&width=400&height=225)
Snow still graces the top of a peak in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Snowpack from the mountains is vital to the health of the Colorado River, which provides water to 40 million people in the American South-West and Mexico.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/JLGGCY4EVVEZHCOM2J5JTPSXAM.jpg?smart=true&auth=0d88990966a6416d78a479feca7ff088440725ea2732469cedf0248abd3ff1e9&width=400&height=225)
An irrigation canal runs through a farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The area is famous for its cattle and produce.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/X7ZPBBR7LJHT3BKDDGCD6CYNEU.jpg?smart=true&auth=41c5af8a091a7447935c6424c9bfffe36a3555be917e61ecd3e891fe07b9f997&width=400&height=225)
A view of Frank Nieslanik’s farm. On one side of the road, the fields have been irrigated. On the otherside, they haven’t.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/RP3EUC6QSVHCVDJHH3YYFPHVKQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=7de615a0989ee6e7c7d26f8f3180f7dffecee01788d31eac63bd94ef19f1e8c3&width=400&height=225)
Lake Granby in Colorado is part of the headwaters that feed the Colorado River.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/TA3N4Z5RM5DULOMUMD54HZQ4EM.jpg?smart=true&auth=e842dd61fc1394b805c8f41d89d7700ced7109bbe0c1e46e6d2520b8d4b15a44&width=400&height=225)
An untapped irrigation pipe at one of the tracts of land Janie VanWinkle and her family graze their cattle on.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/26XMQ2EGJFEHXL7HQLFQCTNFDM.jpg?smart=true&auth=e26bb2bab4b00290e0392f7d75dc18002cabcb2abb1b66e3c0babc0132073809&width=400&height=225)
Janie Van Winkle’s husband, Howard, drives a tractor as she collects hay for her cows. The drought has meant she needs more hay than usual to keep her cattle healthy.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/SZ554OJ3RVGARGZVDDXQ2EMF7Y.jpg?smart=true&auth=2b5c030e3e31e773270d00f84e226933f98276e2bc52faff2502065103a1efc8&width=400&height=225)
A field is irrigated at Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Colorado River has been in a drought for 22 years, putting stress on the state’s farmers.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/I5GLO6D6HNGYVH227NC4MZRQUI.jpg?smart=true&auth=bc2a0802c38db1026ca70b06308d5ea7d6cd3e30e434a80c76e24d94df8e10fe&width=400&height=225)
A winding portion of the Colorado River.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/FI2PNPLG6JFVXFJB6JKF75PLWY.jpg?smart=true&auth=90add2f458b576bfb1f3caac22aaa1a46ae6e873376bce639a10c540a9b5b59a&width=400&height=225)
A depleted reservoir high on top of Grand Mesa near Grand Junction, Colorado.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/QGBODXOX5JH43EFAPLYIJYUQO4.jpg?smart=true&auth=649cf27d167d03d2e06c7cc5d7dc26d796bfee00f34ac4cbd66ed9e8e32c80b9&width=400&height=225)
A cow stands on a dry patch of grass on one of the tracts of land Janie VanWinkle and her family use to graze them on.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/SCRXVVJHZNFZNDYGZNWXQCTAXA.jpg?smart=true&auth=5ad51df258bb9cb3c6ebd7b27952ecfd194036c9406d7d5223bc2ec4670ae49e&width=400&height=225)
A stretch of the Colorado River, near the river’s headwaters.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/GLP54FEO5FHENNL2GLOC3V5RBY.jpg?smart=true&auth=59e1391eabbba9d915d9990b5c49ed465c33f246c5d9e83af8ae26dc4a3228be&width=400&height=225)
An aerial shot of a depleted reservoir on Grand Mesa outside Grand Junction, Colorado. Janie VanWinkle relies on the reservoir to feed her cattle.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/7VW5IPENZREINIPPQEHOGP767E.jpg?smart=true&auth=511c125c522103c584956d5e4847e2e23b33bf822e52dac71569458c8eb0e0e8&width=400&height=225)
An aerial view of Frank Nieslanik’s farm. On one side of the road, the fields have been irrigated. On the other, they haven’t.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/XPHPEQUH5JBKPOQWONUM3DKJFA.jpg?smart=true&auth=bf0bc73f510cfad873864987b521959b45f0b160cbe891a61538ab3e92085a1e&width=400&height=225)
Lake Granby in Colorado is part of the headwaters that feed the Colorado River.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/XIRQI4D6UBFWLH6YLPIIYEGJK4.jpg?smart=true&auth=167ffc507a09b1965825abea83a98f22f8c8f41543f5515b02e5cde6310d5f86&width=400&height=225)
An aerial view of Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/RHDISEO64VFK3HK3HXSLMVAWD4.jpg?smart=true&auth=4e1016a3dbe713e6fa312b4c6ccd10618dea0c3936641b9b9a820c0c9402d4f4&width=400&height=225)
An aerial shot of Janie VanWinkle’s ranch shows how dry conditions have become. Down the hill, where the grass is green, shows the difference irrigation makes.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/TNAYUWTFB5BGTNKWQKW3BELQH4.jpg?smart=true&auth=e0baf64aa090f385c4c9e3e75cd08d0ed68f5b78af12ee7b4ee244906a67b197&width=400&height=225)
Frank Nieslanik poses next to produce grown on his farm. He’s farmed the land for 30 years and has never seen it so dry.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/FK5B3V7S4VEE7CRZEUBLFUFDDU.jpg?smart=true&auth=d669de3653949bae08516322095f9a9e8bef95ceb7d57dcf6be8a51b60b657a3&width=400&height=225)
An aerial view of an irrigation canal on Frank Nieslanik’s farm shows the difference water makes to crops.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/GEGF7LONLRBVRKHPVCI2B5IIJI.jpg?smart=true&auth=543f4373c2789af1a24deae1e85cadc39c2bd0d5da6ddae8173447f2c32c1dc3&width=400&height=225)
Farm workers sow a field at Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Colorado River has been in a drought for 22 years, putting stress on the state’s farmers.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/3EY3UXCD2BCOBHYGCGKR2FSCA4.jpg?smart=true&auth=dd1abef50de013178c7bf29c72a2b9dbb69466366f940956255aaf8fe46bb1d1&width=400&height=225)
An aerial shot of Janie VanWinkle’s ranch outside Grand Junction, Colorado, shows how dry conditions have become.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/TG76EPOZXNFUHP3TORV5GBYFKY.jpg?smart=true&auth=f945a3e551daed38e45c00b3d026716cca202ba89d5985ccfbc8897538f51570&width=400&height=225)
Keith Musselman, a scientist at the University of Colorado’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, looks out towards the continental divide.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/XUG34GRRFVE3FGN4MVKDPOHD3Q.jpg?smart=true&auth=0d1a26d13f0330677f824171a80408ffe9d086cf11d139d315dc5627594e10c3&width=400&height=225)
Produce from Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Colorado River has been in a drought for 22 years, putting stress on the state’s farmers.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/LREBPQDC5JHQXBX5HI2TLA4JQU.jpg?smart=true&auth=b87e28a46cd4dc78bd85ed5b4f5f946e160873f0b218922981aecb67388e4f88&width=400&height=225)
A view from the top of Grand Mesa overlooking the dry Western Slope of Colorado. In July, the state’s governor declared a drought emergency.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/BQPCOFDFUJF5LE26ECV7EAJBUQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=3e11537da26cab6047628209c28bc99e43f1a42ef3e24ea555b18c8e3041b5f8&width=400&height=225)
Janie VanWinkle drives a tractor as she collects hay for her cows. The drought has meant she needs more hay than usual to keep her cattle healthy.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/NWFUIQ43CRD4VK2ALUBWUY6MQI.jpg?smart=true&auth=de04acbb6c6b3711e41d6e06688ce5bf935408eb6b0b58de9c18552c673ee1bc&width=400&height=225)
Snow still graces the top of a peak in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Snowpack from the mountains is vital to the health of the Colorado River, which provides water to 40 million people in the American South-West and Mexico.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/JLGGCY4EVVEZHCOM2J5JTPSXAM.jpg?smart=true&auth=0d88990966a6416d78a479feca7ff088440725ea2732469cedf0248abd3ff1e9&width=400&height=225)
An irrigation canal runs through a farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The area is famous for its cattle and produce.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/X7ZPBBR7LJHT3BKDDGCD6CYNEU.jpg?smart=true&auth=41c5af8a091a7447935c6424c9bfffe36a3555be917e61ecd3e891fe07b9f997&width=400&height=225)
A view of Frank Nieslanik’s farm. On one side of the road, the fields have been irrigated. On the otherside, they haven’t.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/RP3EUC6QSVHCVDJHH3YYFPHVKQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=7de615a0989ee6e7c7d26f8f3180f7dffecee01788d31eac63bd94ef19f1e8c3&width=400&height=225)
Lake Granby in Colorado is part of the headwaters that feed the Colorado River.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/TA3N4Z5RM5DULOMUMD54HZQ4EM.jpg?smart=true&auth=e842dd61fc1394b805c8f41d89d7700ced7109bbe0c1e46e6d2520b8d4b15a44&width=400&height=225)
An untapped irrigation pipe at one of the tracts of land Janie VanWinkle and her family graze their cattle on.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/26XMQ2EGJFEHXL7HQLFQCTNFDM.jpg?smart=true&auth=e26bb2bab4b00290e0392f7d75dc18002cabcb2abb1b66e3c0babc0132073809&width=400&height=225)
Janie Van Winkle’s husband, Howard, drives a tractor as she collects hay for her cows. The drought has meant she needs more hay than usual to keep her cattle healthy.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/SZ554OJ3RVGARGZVDDXQ2EMF7Y.jpg?smart=true&auth=2b5c030e3e31e773270d00f84e226933f98276e2bc52faff2502065103a1efc8&width=400&height=225)
A field is irrigated at Frank Nieslanik’s farm in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Colorado River has been in a drought for 22 years, putting stress on the state’s farmers.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/I5GLO6D6HNGYVH227NC4MZRQUI.jpg?smart=true&auth=bc2a0802c38db1026ca70b06308d5ea7d6cd3e30e434a80c76e24d94df8e10fe&width=400&height=225)
A winding portion of the Colorado River.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/FI2PNPLG6JFVXFJB6JKF75PLWY.jpg?smart=true&auth=90add2f458b576bfb1f3caac22aaa1a46ae6e873376bce639a10c540a9b5b59a&width=400&height=225)
A depleted reservoir high on top of Grand Mesa near Grand Junction, Colorado.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/QGBODXOX5JH43EFAPLYIJYUQO4.jpg?smart=true&auth=649cf27d167d03d2e06c7cc5d7dc26d796bfee00f34ac4cbd66ed9e8e32c80b9&width=400&height=225)
A cow stands on a dry patch of grass on one of the tracts of land Janie VanWinkle and her family use to graze them on.
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/SCRXVVJHZNFZNDYGZNWXQCTAXA.jpg?smart=true&auth=5ad51df258bb9cb3c6ebd7b27952ecfd194036c9406d7d5223bc2ec4670ae49e&width=400&height=225)
A stretch of the Colorado River, near the river’s headwaters.
Arizona, Nevada and Mexico hit with water cuts over Colorado River
Water conservation measures could affect more than 40 million people over next four years
![The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Farc-authors%2Fthenational%2F9e2159fa-e4db-4215-b498-6b3607b75bee.png?smart=true&auth=cf728de2f2d93afc214682199f23d53c844677eb59567fe99abdb1c7e9f03161&width=70&height=70)
The National
16 August, 2022
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