Did it dry up during the "dry" season as could be reasonably expected for a river in a desert region? What is the current situation? Is it dry during the "wet" season?
These are questions you'd expect the article about the river to answer.
The article really does a poor job at showing the actual mismanagement of the river ecosystem. Other sources cover active steps that humans have taken which have caused major damage to the flow rates and resiliency systems that nature had in place.