LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A critical year is ahead for the nation’s two largest reservoirs, with no relief after a record-low snowpack and a continuing drought.
A comment posted on the Colorado River Basin’s Facebook page Wednesday morning might have said it best: “Not enough water in the Monsoons to help. There’s only 2 things that can save Mead and Powell right now: 150 percent Colorado Rockies snow pack for 5 consecutive years, or God himself.”
Projections released Wednesday show Lake Mead dropping to the lowest levels seen since Hoover Dam was built in the 1930s, falling to 1,035.86 feet in November. That’s about 6½ feet lower than Lake Mead’s level Friday at noon — 1,042.52 feet. Lake Mead is the nation’s largest reservoir, but it’s currently at 27% capacity.
The latest projections
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s 24-month study, which is updated monthly, published “most probable” lake levels through June 2028, when Lake Mead is expected to be at 1,009.69 feet. That represents a drop of nearly 33 feet over the next two years. When the lake is at “full pool,” the lake’s surface is at 1,229 feet.
Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir, is currently at 24% capacity. The federal government has consistently prioritized keeping Powell at levels that protect Glen Canyon Dam’s ability to produce hydroelectricity. To do so, the reservoir’s target level has been established as 3,525 feet. But Lake Powell is currently at 3,524.03 feet right now…