More from Cascading Effects

Monday, August 24Issue 46

Cascading EffectsHere's what caught us. U.S. rivers now deliver almost all their annual sediment in about 50 days. Used to be 69. A water plant operator has fewer days to catch the surge, less margin when she misses one. We found that same compression everywhere this week: fire crews facing back-to-back dangerous days with no rest rotation, a Colorado rancher hauling water nine hours straight because the drought won't break. In North Carolina, a family has been carrying two mortgages for 20 months waiting on a government buyout. The time people counted on to respond, to recover, to plan around is shrinking. This issue lives inside those closing windows.SUBSCRIBE

Past Articles

August — Issue #46

Downstream Conversion

Forty-One Days

The federal Colorado River cuts are final, but Arizona's water users face an October ordering deadline without knowing what any of them will actually get.