As of mid-August, more than 40 percent of the U.S. and almost 50 percent of the lower 48 states were in drought, according to drought.gov, an offshoot of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Photographs of the Colorado River at low flow are stunning—and not in a good way.
In fact, the federal government recently announced a second round of water restrictions in the seven states that rely on water from the Colorado River Basin. Even in the East,...