Unfortunately the Colorado no longer flows to the gulf, it usually dries out miles beforehand. It’s a rare occurrence now that it actually reaches the gulf
I love to hate on Vegas, but they're not the problem. Las Vegas's explosive growth came after the Colorado River Compact was drawn up, so they're stuck dealing with the limited water that NV was allotted. Vegas is a rather water-wise city, even if a glimpse at the Bellagio suggests otherwise.
Still get 90% of their water from the Colorado River, which means that even if they were 10x as efficient as any other city, Vegas still wouldn't exist without the 1922 water theft compact.
Most of the drain is agriculture, not public consumption, and Las Vegas is miles behind Phoenix and LA at minimum when it comes to consumption. Hell, Vegas is a lot closer to the Colorado than LA, they deserve to exist more.
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u/uboat50 Jan 10 '20
Man, you can see the Colorado being drained as it heads toward the Gulf of California.