Lake Mead Reports Lowest Water Level Ever Recorded

BOULDER CITY, Nev. — Lake Mead, nan largest reservoir successful nan United States, has plummeted to its lowest h2o level since it was filled immoderate 90 years ago, different motion of nan situation plaguing nan Colorado River system.

The h2o level astatine Lake Mead deed 1,040.4 feet supra oversea level Friday, according to federal data. That’s conscionable beneath nan people of 1,040.58 feet recorded connected July 28, 2022, astatine nan reservoir, which straddles nan Arizona-Nevada separator extracurricular Las Vegas.

The grounds follows a wintertime that produced nan worst snowpack connected grounds successful nan Colorado River Basin. Melting snowfall feeds nan river, which is relied upon by farmers, industries, wildlife, hydropower producers and much than 40 cardinal group crossed 7 U.S. states, tribal nations and Mexico.

It comes a week aft national officials announced a short-term proposal to antagonistic nan situation successful nan beleaguered waterway. Federal officials stepped successful aft states that trust connected nan stream — California, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah — grounded to scope an statement connected really to stock nan dwindling assets long-term. Under nan proposal, California, Nevada and Arizona would stock h2o cuts.

Years of overuse mixed pinch drought and rising temperatures person been depleting Lake Mead and Lake Powell, nan country’s second-largest reservoir. Together, nan 2 bodies of Colorado River h2o are nan lowest they’ve been successful astir 7 decades.

To protect nan strained system’s expertise to nutrient hydropower, national officials said Thursday that they will not merchandise Lake Powell h2o from Glen Canyon Dam successful bluish Arizona to protect a threatened autochthonal food whose residence is betwixt nan reservoirs.

Severe drought successful 2022 connected Lake Mead, which is held backmost by nan Hoover Dam, exposed quality remains and forced h2o officials successful Las Vegas to pump h2o from deeper wrong nan reservoir to proceed to proviso h2o to millions of people.

Oneil and Pineda constitute for nan Associated Press.