Elephant Butte Reservoir Runs Low

NASA Science reports that New Mexico's Elephant Butte Reservoir has fallen to its lowest level since 1971, sitting at just one point four percent capacity in late July. The largest reservoir in the state has been stressed by extreme drought and the earliest snowmelt on record at the Rio Grande's headwaters. Satellite images show the dramatic drop from near-full conditions in 1994 and a previous drought low in 2013. Water releases for agriculture stopped after July twenty-eighth, allowing the lake to slowly refill, while NASA is helping water managers use satellite data to plan for the region's future.

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