LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Lake Mead is projected to reach its lowest point since it was initially filled. In response, a California water agency is partnering with the federal government to keep more Colorado River water in the reservoir this year, part of an effort to protect hydropower generation at Hoover Dam.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s board of directors approved the agreement this week, which will allow the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to compensate Metropolitan for leaving up to 200,000 acre-feet of its Colorado River supplies in Lake Mead this year. An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons, enough water to serve roughly three households.
Metropolitan Board Chair Adán Ortega Jr. said the move is possible because of decades of investments in alternative supplies, storage and conservation…