The novel Lords of St. Thomas (GWP, 2018) by Jackson Ellis tells the story of the last family to vacate the flooded town of St. Thomas in 1938 following construction of the Hoover Dam and creation of Lake Mead. Yet a 7.48 million acre-feet release in water year 2022, which begins in October 2021, could drop levels on Lake Mead by nearly 20 feet. People throughout the Southwest are just beginning to understand that all of their actions – from the water they drink, to the food they eat, to the energy they consume – have implications for the Colorado River. During the filling of Lake Powell from 1963 to 1965, the water level fell from 1,205 to 1,090 feet (367 to 332 m). This is important because people who understand their own water use are better able to understand decisions made at the municipal, state and river basin level, and why sometimes-drastic measures have to be taken to limit water use. The lake is divided into several bodies. But the report projects that by October 2019, the surface of Lake Mead could fall below 1,075 feet above sea level, the agreed-upon point that would … Las Vegas Bay is the terminus for the Las Vegas Wash which is the sole outflow from the Las Vegas Valley. That could plunge us into shortage Lake Mead’s water level varies on a regular basis throughout the year. When it reaches 1,050 feet, the lake can no longer generate hydroelectricity. On June 23rd the water’s elevation level dipped below 1,075 feet, a level that, if maintained, could have triggered a call for a water shortage by the US Bureau of Reclamation, the agency that manages the Colorado River system storage reservoirs. It wasn’t always so low. At full volume, Lake Mead and Lake Powell had 50 million acres feet of water in storage at a height … Stress test models suggest a 32% chance that Lake Mead will fall below 1,075 feet by 2022 and a 77% chance by 2025. Cliff jumping at Lake Mead NRA is highly discouraged because it is inherently dangerous due to fluctuating lake levels, uneven canyon walls and unseen … The water level in 2015, however, is part of a decade-long decline, and has reached lows not seen since the 1930s when the lake was first filling. Let’s just say that ensuring the future of drinking water in the city will be a definite challenge. Current Lake Mead Water Level. [28] Drought restrictions were narrowly avoided again when the lake level rose above 1,075 feet on September 28, 2016, three days before the deadline, and the Bureau of Land Reclamation did not issue a shortage declaration. 3,583.59. The model’s median estimates indicate Lake Mead will drop by 35 feet (11 meters) by 2026. By Ron Dungan. Despite the fluctuations, the lake is still one of the largest reservoir in the United States with depths surpassing 300 feet. The previous low of 1,075.08 feet (327.68 meters) was set in late June 2015. [34][35] In December 2019, Lake Mead water level reached 1090.47, about ten feet above projections. [43] In order to ensure that the city of Las Vegas will continue to be able to draw its drinking water from Lake Mead, nearly $1.5 billion was spent on building a new water intake tunnel in the middle of the lake at the elevation of 860 feet (260 m). My theory is this smoothing was caused by the fact that Lake Powell, upstream from Lake Mead, began to fill in 1966, taking 17 years to fill completely (that would take us to 1983). The longer-term record shows drops in water elevation associated with a drought in the mid-1950s and again in the mid-1960s. Lake Mead is technically not a “lake.” It is not a naturally occurring lake since its water is fed by the Colorado River, and stored behind Hoover Dam. Bacterial levels in water at Lake Mead, Lake Mohave beaches unsafe for humans. Tweet. Feet MSL. Originally published at GRACE’s former blog Ecocentric by Robin Madel on 07.20.2015.Image: Lake Mead, June 2015. Credit: Robin Madel. Preparing lake level chart... Level Base: MSL Full Pool: 1,229.00 feet Winter Pool: 915.00 feet: Change Since Yesterday: 0.07 Feet Level Controlled by: Dam Name: Hoover (DOI BR) Daily Levels By Month Colorado River River Levels: Lake Mead Forums: Lake … Stress test models suggest a 32% chance that Lake Mead will fall below 1,075 feet by 2022 and a 77% chance by 2025. The water … However, there is positive news as the elevation at Lake Mead has reached its highest point since 2014, and that is due in large part to efforts in California to reduce water use and conserve, … [23], In 2012 and 2013, the Colorado River basin experienced its worst consecutive water years on record, prompting a low Glen Canyon release in 2014 – the lowest since 1963, during the initial filling of Lake Powell – in the interest of recovering the level of the upstream reservoir, which had fallen to less than 40% capacity as a result of the drought. Lake Mead receives the majority of its water from snow melt in the Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah Rocky Mountains. Lake Powell Water Level. Like Lake Mead, the Colorado River’s survival has never been more threatened, and there has never been more of a need for conservation and efficiency from all of its users. Changing rainfall patterns, climate variability, high levels of evaporation, reduced snow melt runoff, and current water use patterns are putting pressure on water management resources at Lake Mead as the population relying on it for water, and the Hoover Dam for electricity, continues to increase. BOULDER CITY (FOX5) -- A gigantic water tank arrived at Lake Mead Thursday as part of the Southern Nevada Water Authority's Low Lake Level Pumping Station. Generally, after the winter thaw, the water is deepest in the spring months. Inflows to the lake are largely moderated by the upstream Glen Canyon Dam, which is required to release 8.23 million acre feet (10,150,000 ML) of water each year to Lake Mead. 2. Friday, July 31st 2020. That’s 14 feet above the level … Colorado River Basin Drought Contingency Plan Agreements Colorado River System Mid- to Long-term Projections Colorado River … The Colorado River Compact controls use of the river, which is generally considered to be over-allocated, meaning there is more water on paper than there is in the river to distribute. On May 25, 2016, the surface level of Lake Mead at the Hoover Dam stood at 1,074.03 feet (327.36 meters) above sea level. The observant reader will notice a pattern of rapidly varying water height in the Lake Mead chart above from 1935 until the mid-1960s, after which the water level became more consistent in the short term. But there’s still … It wasn’t always so low. [26][27], Lake Mead's water level rebounded a few feet by October 2015 and avoided triggering the drought restrictions. In addition, the Alan Bible Visitor Center hosts the Alan Bible Botanical Garden, a small garden of cactus and other plants native to the Mojave Desert. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the water level has now reached a record low for the second year in a row. Lake Mead’s elevation is around 1,092 feet, which is the highest it has been since May 2014, but it is still only 42% full, said Patti Aaron, public affairs officer for the bureau’s Lower Colorado Basin Region. 3,583.29. [13] Both lakes and the surrounding area offer year-round recreation options. Lake Mead supplies 90 percent of Las Vegas’ drinking water. Given end-of-year projections for Lake Mead’s water level at (just) below 1090 feet above sea level, USBR will declare a Tier Zero shortage for 2020. [47], At the bottom of the lake is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress that crashed in 1948 while testing a prototype missile guidance system known as "suntracker". Lake Mead is a man-made lake that lies on the Colorado River, about 24 mi (39 km) from the Las Vegas Strip, southeast of the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, in the states of Nevada and Arizona. The dwindling water levels were a cause for alarm for both residents and visitors, who rely on the water for fresh drinking water and recreational activity. The city will still get water even if lake levels fall below what’s known as “dead pool” or the level below which water would no longer flow past Hoover Dam. Bountiful snow in the Rocky Mountains last winter buoyed levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, ... Nevada and California as well as Mexico — agreed to leave more water in Lake Mead when the reservoir dipped below certain levels starting at 1,090 feet, which is an elevation, not a depth. Good thing because the overflow tunnels fell apart. While there has been below-average precipitation in recent years in the Colorado River basin, most of the nation has enjoyed increasing precipitation as temperatures … It wasn’t always so low. [25] On June 23, 2015, Lake Mead reached another new record low when it briefly fell below 1,075.0 feet (327.7 m), the first official "drought trigger" elevation, for the first time since the lake was filled. It is reasonable to assume the … The bureau’s study projects Lake Mead will be at 1,089 feet by Jan. 1, 2020. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) reports a high water line of 1,229.0 feet but defines an elevation of 1,221.4 (the elevation of the top of the spillway crest at Hoover Dam) as maximum lake storage capacity and 1,219.6 feet elevation as “operationally full.” Preparing lake level chart... Level Base: MSL Full Pool: 3,700.00 feet: Change Since Yesterday: 0.17 Feet Level Controlled by: Dam Name: Powell (DIVISION OF STATE LANDS & FORESTRY) Daily Levels By Month Colorado River River Levels: Lake Powell Forums: … Lake Mead on the Arizona-Nevada border. Last week’s storm did little to ease the drought in Arizona’s reservoirs. Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. WATER LEVEL. NWS5982.mp3; Download mp3 (840.52 KB) National Park Service. The water year begins October 1 to coincide with seasonal Rocky Mountain snowfall, which produces most of the Colorado River's flow. The scale was massive – such a large concrete structure had never been built before. Updated: Thursday, December 17, 2020 - 8:22am. Reported elevations for full storage capacity (“full pool” ) of Lake Mead can vary. The entire Colorado River Basin has been in … Last week, Lake Mead dropped to the lowest levels since the reservoir was filled upon the completion of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s. Feet MSL. [36] Since 2018, Lake Mead water levels have remained well above the 1075 foot level that would trigger a shortage determination. [17], Before the filling of Lake Powell (a reservoir of similar size to Lake Mead) behind Glen Canyon Dam, the Colorado River flowed largely unregulated into Lake Mead, making Mead more vulnerable to drought. All Rights Reserved. However, the water level started falling in Spring 2016 and fell below the drought trigger level of 1,075 feet again in May 2016. It also can provide more than 4,200 megawatts of electricity from hydroelectric facilities like the Hoover Dam. © 2017-2020 In addition, two small basins, the Muddy River Inlet and the Virgin River Basin, are flooded when the lake is high enough where these two rivers flow into the lake. [5][6] It has been smaller than Lake Powell (the second largest US reservoir when both are full) since 2013. Currently, Lake Mead is at an elevation of 1083 feet or 39-percent full." Early on, the city of Las Vegas realized that Lake Mead could provide a stable source of drinking water to the rapidly growing city. As of February 2015, these basins remain dry. The water level in Lake Mead sits at 1,083 feet (330 meters). Despite the improved short-term outlook, the water level in Lake Mead remains just 10 feet above the trigger point for a first federal shortage declaration on the Colorado River. Published: Wednesday, December 16, 2020 - 6:33pm. Wednesday, December 23, 2020 12:00:00 AM Level is 116.41 feet below full pool of 3,700.00. However, since 2000, the Colorado River has experienced persistent drought, with average or above-average conditions occurring in only five years (2005, 2008–2009, 2011 and 2014) in the first 16 years of the 21st century. by Cody Miller. The entire Colorado River Basin has been in a drought for 15 years, causing water levels in the reservoir to plummet. I had just listened to a discussion about the future of drinking water in the city, given by Zane Marshall, the Director of the Resources & Facilities Department of the Southern Nevada Water Authority/Las Vegas Valley Water District. On June 23rd the water’s elevation level … The Colorado River runs for 1,450 miles and drains a watershed that encompasses seven US and two Mexican states. It’s also a great first step in understanding the water scarcity that everyone in the Southwest faces. Covid-19 has already exhausted the US. It is the largest reservoir in the United States in terms of water capacity. Access from the northwest from Interstate 15 is through the Valley of Fire State Park and the Moapa River Indian Reservation to the Overton Arm of the lake. kWh Strom im Jahr und sichert die Stromversorgung von Süd-Kalifornien 56%, Arizona 19% und Nevada 25%. Lake Mead's water level, which dropped precipitously during a drought from 2000 to 2015, has risen 25 feet since 2016, leaving the reservoir 44% full. Lake Mead hit a record high elevation of 1,220 feet above sea level in the summer 1941, just five years after completion of the dam, but the level has fluctuated and been in decline ever since. Fortunately, snow melt from heavy spring storms in the Rockies brought the water level back up, so a shortage won’t be declared this year – and maybe not even next year. When the lake levels are high enough, a section of the lake farther upstream from the Gregg Basin is flooded, which includes Grand Wash Bay, the Pearce Ferry Bay and launch ramp, and about 55 miles (89 km) of the Colorado River within the lower Grand Canyon, extending to the foot of 240 Mile Rapids (north of Peach Springs, Arizona). [33] Despite these and other predictions of an impending shortage determination by 2020, snowpack of 140% of average in the Upper Colorado River basin as of April 2019 resulted in 128% above average inflow into Lake Powell, resulting in 1090.20 foot water level on Lake Mead. It took 3,250,000 cubic yards of concrete to build, and employed thousands of workers. The highest level was in 1983 … After 37 years of abundance, some decline was bound to eventually occur. Last week’s storm did little to ease the drought in Arizona’s reservoirs. WATER LEVEL. “Drought isn’t determined by the amount of water in Lake Mead,” Aaron said. From 1953 to 1956, the water level fell from 1,200 to 1,085 feet (366 to 331 m). This lake is actually a man-made reservoir that was created as a result of the construction of the Hoover Dam. Lake Mead Water Level. Boating is the most popular. Nine main access points to the lake are available. The … At the end of January, the lake was at 1,086 feet of surface elevation above sea level. [48], The wreckages of at least two smaller airplanes are also submerged in Lake Mead. [38], As a result of the decreasing water level, marinas and boat launch ramps have either had to be relocated to another area of the lake or have closed down permanently.