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>> reporter: 40 million people who rely on water from the colorado river basin and from lake meade. and you look at where we're standing. this looks like a beach. this used to be the bottom of the lake. the water used to go way above where my head is now. if you look and see this white ring over there, they call it the bathtub ring, that's where the water level used to be just a few years ago here in lake meade. the water levels have more dropped 130 feet since 2000. and just in may, it passed a critical trigger point, 1,075 feet, which is how we got to where we are today, with the federal government expected in just a few hours to issue the first-ever tier one water shortage declaration. which at first it will mean cuts in nevada, as well as to arizona. and i spoke with the local water authority general manager who said they've been preparing a lot for this, trying to cut their water consumption so that they can absorb the cuts that a lot of people have predicted.