Lake Powell hits record low, threatening Colorado River supplies Play

Malibu residents get about one-third of our drinking water allocation from the Colorado River. And because of that, news of the tremendous drought in the Colorado basin is a local concern.

Lake Powell, the massive Colorado River reservoir near the Grand Canyon, hit its record low mark over the weekend. When it gets lower, very soon, the massive Glen Canyon Dam water turbines will not have enough water to generate electricity.

That will hurt power supplies from Denver to Las Vegas, and electric supplies that normally flow to California may get diverted.

But it's the water shortage that will directly affect Malibu. Do the math. One-third of Southern California's water comes from the Colorado. That means Malibu will be losing about 6.5 percent of our water allocation.

But California lucked out last winter. Not much snow, but it was very rainy, and the rain fell evenly all winter. Our state was able to fill up the dams in Northern California, the ones that hold water for the entire state.

So keep an eye on the Colorado. It affects our food supply. But not yet our water.