Lake Mead Plummets to Historic Low, 30 Million at Risk

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States, has dropped to its lowest water level since it was first filled nearly 90 years ago, according to federal data. The reservoir, which straddles the Arizona-Nevada border outside Las Vegas, hit 1,040.4 feet (317.1 meters) above sea level on Friday. This marks a new record low, falling just below the previous record set on July 28, 2022. The declining water levels are a stark indicator of the ongoing crisis gripping the Colorado River system, which is relied upon by 40 million people across seven U.S. states, tribal nations, and Mexico. J.B. Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River Board of California, stated, "It's extremely significant and extremely concerning. You have three-quarters of the population of the Colorado River Basin, some 30 million people, who are directly impacted by risks to Lake Mead". The situation has been exacerbated by the worst snowpack on record for the Colorado River Basin this past winter, adding immense stress on farmers, industry, wildlife, and hydropower producers. Years of overuse, combined with drought and rising temperatures, have been depleting both Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the country's second-largest reservoir. Both are now at their lowest levels in nearly seven decades. To protect the strained system's ability to produce hydropower, federal officials have decided against releasing cool water from Lake Powell to protect a threatened native fish, the humpback chub. This difficult choice highlights the severity of the water shortage. States that rely on the Colorado River—California, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah—have failed to reach a long-term agreement on how to share the dwindling resource. The Bureau of Reclamation has proposed a flexible plan calling for the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California, and Nevada to take less water, with deeper cuts possible in drier times. The consequences of the low water levels are already visible. The severe drought in 2022 exposed human remains and forced water officials in Las Vegas to pump water from deeper within the reservoir to continue supplying the millions of people who depend on it. Boat ramps at Lake Powell have had to be moved or shut down as it has become difficult to reach the water. Federal officials do not believe the record will stand for long, as modeling done in July forecasts Lake Mead will continue to drop through much of the rest of the year.