LAS VEGAS ( KLAS ) — A Tier 1 water shortage will remain in effect for 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced on Thursday.
Based on projections in a two-year forecast looking at lake levels for both Lake Powell and Lake Mead — the nation’s two largest reservoirs — officials determined that more severe restrictions on water use are not needed next year. Tier 1 is the least severe shortage condition.
Under Tier 1, Southern Nevada is allowed 279,000 acre-feet from the Colorado River. That’s 21,000 acre-feet below the state’s standard allocation of 300,000 acre-feet — a 7% cut. It’s the same amount of water the state is getting in its 2024 allocation. An acre-foot is 325,851 gallons — literally, the amount needed to cover an acre with a foot of water. That’s enough to supply two to three households for a year.
Nevada doesn’t use its full allocation and hasn’t for years as conservation efforts have succeeded in cutting water use. Last year, Nevada only used about 188,000 acre-feet .