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California is investing $6 million to combat the spread of golden mussels after the species was discovered impacting water infrastructure in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, including facilities serving San Joaquin County.

State officials say the mussels have begun attaching to pipes, pumps, and gates, increasing maintenance costs and raising concerns about the long-term reliability of the region’s water supply. The announcement comes after Stockton declared a local emergency when mussels were found in the city’s Delta water supply intake station.

Lake Powell, one of the American West’s largest reservoirs that helps provide water, irrigation and power for over 40 million Americans across seven states, is drying up.

Bordering Utah and Arizona, the man-made lake’s summer water levels are at their lowest in recorded history, according to Utah data.

High in the Rocky Mountains, spring-fed streams and ponds have vanished, leaving patches of cracked mud in what were once spongy meadows.

This year has been so extremely warm and arid that the mountains have remained largely snowless. The water-generating source of the Colorado River, its headwaters, is drying up.

Arizona may soon purchase desalinated Pacific Ocean water to help offset shortages in the Colorado River caused by a decades-long drought. The price tag , however, will likely be very steep unless a long-term deal is struck.

A framework signed June 3 by water authorities in Arizona, California, Nevada and the federal Bureau of Reclamation opens the door for an interstate swap – the first of its kind, according to all parties involved.