… The Colorado River in the United States is one of the main arenas in the global water crisis. In the summer of 2022, Lake Mead, formed by the Hoover Dam, was holding just a quarter of its potential water capacity. The Colorado River arises in the Rocky Mountains and supplies water to seven US states. California is the largest consumer. Cities with millions of inhabitants, such as Los Angeles and San Diego, depend on its water but most of it flows into this agricultural zone in the middle of the desert. The All American Canal carries 80% of California’s share of Colorado water to the Imperial Valley along the Mexican border. Until the early 20th century, the Imperial Valley was an uninhabited desert. Now it’s one of the key cultivation zones in the US, all thanks to the waters of the Colorado River. The most important crop is clover, or more precisely alfalfa, animal feed.