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As Lake Mead's water levels continue to decline, nearby cities like Las Vegas could be in trouble.
Lake Mead is the largest man-made reservoir in the U.S., spread between Nevada and Arizona on the Colorado River. It is formed by the Hoover Dam, which produces about 4 billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectric power every year. It serves over a million people living across Nevada, Arizona, and California
However, the lake is rapidly approaching dead pool due to severe drought conditions gripping the region. The lake's water levels currently stand at 1,045.54 feet, as of January 15. But experts predict that in a few years, the lake's water levels could be as low as 895 feet, which would be too low to flow past the dam.
This would mean dire things for nearby cities like Las Vegas.
Dr. Joellen Russell, a climate scientist and professor at the University of Arizona and a member of the group Science Moms, told Newsweek: "Lake Mead and Hoover Dam are about 100 to 150 feet from 'dead pool' conditions, at which point neither water nor electricity will flow from the dam. At its peak, Hoover Dam generated a significant part of the electricity for almost 30 million people, and production has already dropped by a third. Dead pool conditions would mean the end of all electric production, as well as water, from the Colorado River."
Electricity would not just be the only thing lost.
Without Lake Mead, Las Vegas would lose access to 90 percent of its water sources.
If Lake Mead were to reach dead pool, it would technically still be able to supply drinking water to Las Vegas. But there will not be enough water for agricultural activities.
The megadrought affecting the western U.S. has lasted for two decades. There has been an influx of recent rainfall recently that has risen the lake's water levels slightly, but this is not a long-term solution.
As the dry period has lasted for decades, it would take years of rainfall to lift the state out of its drought.
The drought is largely being put down to human-caused climate change.
"Projections of the Lake Mead water level by the US Bureau of Reclamation show continued decrease at least through 2024. The water flowing down the Colorado River comes primarily (90 percent) from the melting snowpack in the Rockies on the Colorado Plateau," Russell said. "La Nina conditions are generally correlated with a thinner snowpack and we are just coming out of a 'triple dip' La Nina (three La Nina winters in a row) that each had below normal snow. Additionally, we know that 2023 is going to be hot —according to NOAA, the last 9 years (2014-2022) are officially the 9 hottest on record (and the 10th hottest was 2010), so evaporation is definitely going to continue to exert downward pressure on the lake level."
Russell said it would also take years of "much above average" snowpack, "combined with drastically less water usage," to let Lake Mead begin to fill again.
"You can't save if you insist on spending, regardless of your income," Russell said.
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about drought? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
Update 1/19/23 7:11 a.m. ET: This article was updated to show Joellen Russell's affiliation to Science Moms.
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About the writer
Robyn White is a Newsweek Nature Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on wildlife, science and the ... Read more
