FAQ

How we decide what goes on the map, in questionsThe rule for what goes on the map, in questions

What is on the map

What counts as an affected community?

A real, named place (a city, town, neighbourhood, tribal community or the district that pipes water to homes) in one of the eight states. Something specific happened to its water on a known date, of one of five kinds. It was the water people drink and wash with, not a farm's irrigation. At least two separate news outlets or official bodies reported it, and one of them is an official body or a major newspaper. And we know how many people live there, from a cited figure with its year. All five have to be true, or the place is not on the map.

A named city, town, census-designated place, unincorporated community, tribal community or domestic water district in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Utah or Wyoming, to which one dated event of one of five kinds happened; the water lost was household supply, not a farm allocation; at least two independent sources from different publishers say so, one of them an official body or a newspaper of record; and the population is a cited figure with its year. All five conditions must hold, or the place is not listed.

What do the five kinds of event mean?

Every card carries one of five labels, the same words as the legend on the map:

Each card carries one of these, the same words as the legend on the map:

Cut off: A supplier stopped delivering the water the community depended on.
Ran dry: The community's own wells, intake or reservoir failed.
Restricted: An authority declared a water emergency with mandatory rationing or a counted supply of days.
At risk: An official body has published when, or under what conditions, the community loses its supply.
Excluded: Never connected to a piped supply, documented by a dated official finding.

A place carries exactly one kind, for its latest qualifying event; earlier events are named in its summary and their sources are kept on the record.

Why is a place still listed after its water came back?

Because it happened. Restored means a permanent fix was finished on the date shown: a pipe to another system, a new well, an emergency officially over. The card stays, with a Restored badge. The map opens on the places still waiting for a fix; the status filter brings the restored ones back.

Restored means a permanent fix was completed on the date shown: a connection to another system, a new well, a formally ended emergency. The event happened and is documented, so the card stays, marked Restored. The map opens on the places still without a fix; the status filter shows restored places on request.

Why is a burst main or a failed pump on the map, when it is not drought?

The question we ask is whether a community lost its drinking water on a known day, not why. A broken main that leaves a town with dry taps for days counts, and the card says the cause was the pipes. Whether those cases should be shown separately from drought is a question the site's owner has not settled yet; until then, the rule is the rule.

The rule asks whether a community lost its household supply on a dated, documented day, not why. A main break that empties a town's tanks for days is a loss of supply and is listed, with its cause recorded as infrastructure. Whether such places should be shown apart from drought-driven losses is an open question for the site's owner; until it is decided, they are listed under the rule as written.

Why is my town not listed?

Usually one of four reasons. The water was contaminated but still flowing, which is a different crisis. The place is outside the eight states, or in Mexico. Only one outlet originally reported it, even if the story went everywhere. Or what was lost was a farm's water, not the town's. Every place we checked and turned down is kept in our working notes with the reason, so we do not go round in circles.

Usually one of four reasons: the event was contamination without a loss of supply, which is a different crisis; the place is outside the eight states, or in Mexico; only one originating publisher reported it, which fails the two-source rule even when the story is well known; or the loss was a farm allocation rather than household water. Every candidate that was researched and failed is kept in the register's working notes with the reason, so the same question is not reopened without new evidence.

What does "supply cut" on a card mean?

The percentage an official body said the community's supply was cut by. It only appears when a cited source gives the number. If nobody published one, the line is simply not there; we never guess.

The percentage an authority published for a cut in the community's supply. It appears only when a cited source states it; otherwise the row is absent rather than guessed.

Where does the population figure come from, and how many people lost water?

The population is how many people lived in the place in the year cited, usually according to the U.S. Census, sometimes from the source itself for places the Census does not count. It is not the number of people who lost water: nobody publishes that, so we do not make it up. The "people in affected communities" figure above the map just adds those populations together.

Population is the place's population in the year cited, usually from the U.S. Census, sometimes from the source itself for places the Census does not count. It is not a count of people who lost service: the sources do not publish one, so the site does not invent one. The "people in affected communities" figure above the map is the sum of those populations.

Why does a card sometimes show only a month?

Because that is all the sources said. A day appears only when a report names it. We never fill in a date, and nothing is dated in the future.

A day appears only when a source names it. Where the sources name only the month, the card shows the month. No date is ever filled in, and nothing is dated in the future.

About this site

Where do the facts come from, and who checks them?

Every number on a card comes from the sources listed on that card: official notices, court and agency documents, and reporting by established newspapers and public media. Each place needs two separate publishers. Automatic checks make sure the mechanical rules hold (dates in the right form, sources from different publishers, a population with its year, nothing in the future) and that every link still works.

Every figure on a card is taken from the sources cited on that card: official notices, court and agency documents, and reporting by newspapers of record and public media. Each record needs two independent publishers. Automated checks enforce the mechanical parts of the rule (date formats, sources from different publishers, a population with a year, nothing in the future) and confirm that every cited link still resolves.

Is any of this live data?

No. Nothing here updates by itself and there are no accounts. Every number is a fact someone checked and typed into a file, updated by hand when something new is documented. Our sister site, Colorado River Monitor, is the live one.

No. The site has no feeds and no accounts. Every number is a cited fact in a file, updated by hand when a new event is documented. Colorado River Monitor, the sister site, is the live one.

What is the news page?

The reporting our map rests on. For the newest cases, it lists the articles and official notices already cited on their cards, newest first, each linking to the original. We keep it by hand; it is not a feed, and it never carries a story the map has not checked.

The reporting the register itself rests on: for the newest events, the articles and official notices already cited on their cards, newest first, each linking to the original publisher. It is a hand-kept list, not a feed, and it never carries an article the register has not verified.

How is this site related to Colorado River Monitor?

Same people, same look, two halves of one story. Colorado River Monitor watches the reservoirs with daily government readings; this site follows the communities at the other end of the pipe. Each links to the other.

Same publisher, same design, two halves of one story. Colorado River Monitor follows the reservoirs with daily Bureau of Reclamation readings; this site follows the communities at the other end of the pipe. Each links to the other.

Can I report a community?

Yes. Use the contact form and pick "Report a community that lost its water". A place goes on the map only with a dated, public source, so a link to a news report or an official notice helps most. The rule for what qualifies is on the About page and above, so you can check a place against it first.

Yes, through the contact form, under the subject "Report a community that lost its water". The inclusion rule is published on the About page and above, so a candidate can be checked against it first; a community is added only with a dated, public source, so a link to the report or notice helps.

How are the photographs licensed?

The photos of places come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA). We keep a copy with the site rather than loading them from Commons, and we credit each one on the About page and on its card.

Place photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences (CC0, public domain, CC BY or CC BY-SA), are stored with this site rather than loaded from Commons, and are credited on the About page and on each card.

The rule in full

The About page spells out the whole rule, the five kinds of event and the photo credits. Read it there.

The About page states the inclusion rule as the register applies it, with the five kinds of event and the photo credits. Read it there.