[Trailer] The 100-Year-Old ‘Political Scheme’ Behind the Lake Mead Disaster | Facts Matter

Lake Mead is the largest water reservoir in the United States. Not only is it just big, but it's also quite old as well. It was formed about a hundred years ago, back in the 1930s, due to the construction of the Hoover Dam: when the Hoover Dam was put up on the Colorado River, Lake Mead was formed behind the dam. In fact, Lake Mead is so large that one of its reservoirs contains enough water for over 5.5 million acres of farmland, as well as over 40 million people across seven different states—but that was when the water level was at 95 percent capacity. Over the past two decades, the lake has experienced a significant drop in water volume, going from being almost full in 2000 to dwindling to only 28 percent capacity today. These current water levels are the lowest they've been since the year 1937—which was when the reservoir was being filled up for the very first time.