Southwest Farmers Face Ruin as Snowpack Hits Record Low #
Tom Painter stood beside a rushing stream outside Reno, Nevada, on Monday, watching the water that should have been locked in mountain ice. According to data from Painter, the CEO of Airborne Snow Observatories, the Colorado River is entering a terminal hydrological crisis as the snowpacks that feed the system have shrunk to the smallest on record. Lake Powell is now projected to receive only 13 percent of its typical April-to-July runoff, the lowest volume since the reservoir was filled…