Recent Rain at Lake Mead Gives Respite to Dwindling Water Levels

The recent rain falling on Nevada is giving a brief respite to Lake Mead's dwindling water levels.

Lake Mead's current water level stands at 1,045.34 feet as of January 12. Since December, when water levels were at 1,042 feet, it has continued to steadily rise.

"Overall, we currently stand at about 0.3 feet higher than originally projected in December," Bureau of Reclamation Public Affairs Specialist Doug Hendrix said, as reported by locals news outlet KTLA.

Lake Mead is the largest man-made reservoir in the U.S., spread between Nevada and Arizona on the Colorado River.

It made national headlines in 2022 as its water level hit the lowest it had ever been due to the ongoing megadrought gripping the western U.S.

In July, the water level reached an all time low of 1,040 feet.

The recent increase in water level is not just down to the rainfall, but also an increase in snowpack coming down from the mountains, after particularly cold weather in December.

The lake is now at 28 percent its usual capacity. While this is higher than the 27 percent capacity reported during the summer, the increased water level will not do much to save the lake.

Experts believe only a change in water policy can do this.

The megadrought effecting the western U.S. has lasted for two decades. And despite the recent rainfall, the lake—which is relied upon by tens of thousands of people living in surrounding communities—is not replenishing as quickly as it is being used.

Jennifer Pitt, the Colorado River program director with the National Audubon Society, an environmental organization, previously told Newsweek: "Lake Mead's water levels have been declining since 2000. It has gotten warmer and drier, and the rules haven't changed fast enough to stop the decline.

"The legal framework is really complicated, but urgent change it needed right now before the risk increases and there's no water for everyone, and everything dependent on water from Lake Mead—farms, birds, major cities, really all life in the Southwest."

Despite the rising water levels, it will take a lot more wet weather to lift Nevada out of the drought.

"To refill the Colorado River reservoirs, you would need three average years of snowfall without any water use," Pitt said.

"There's been a good start to the snowfall season, but it is way too early to know what runoff will look like. Today the water uses allowed by law are more than the river gets in an average year, so until the rules are changed it is unlikely the reservoirs will fill."

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