In November 1922, seven land-owning white men brokered a deal to allocate water from the Colorado River, which winds through the West and ends in Mexico. During the past two decades, pressure has intensified on the river as the driest 22-year stretch in the past 1,200 years has gripped the southwestern U.S.
In Photos: Pressures on the Colorado River
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FILE - Water flows along the All-American Canal, Aug. 13, 2022, near Winterhaven, Calif.
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FILE - Delanna Mart stands on a dock at a lake on Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, July 25, 2022, in Fort Duchesne, Utah.
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Joe Bernal works on his family's farm, Sept. 1, 2022, in Fruita, Colo. In November 1922, seven land-owning white men brokered a deal to allocate water from the Colorado River, which winds through the West and ends in Mexico.
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In this photo provided by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover presides over the signing of the Colorado River Compact in Santa Fe, N.M., on Nov. 24, 1922.