How long until Lake Mead is a dead pool?

Officials have warned that dead pool could be reached by 2025, if the lake continues drying up at the rate it is currently. But Glennon said that one would need a crystal ball to know for sure. The longer we wait, the worse it will get and there's a specific reason for this.



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Lake Powell and Lake Mead - the nation's largest reservoirs - are unlikely to refill for another 50 years and would need six consecutive years of deadly atmospheric rivers to replenish, experts say.

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Lake Mead expected to have gained 20 feet of water by end of 2023. By the end of the year, the water level at Lake Mead is expected to be at least 20 feet higher than it was in January, according to a Bureau of Reclamation forecast released this week.

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Mead reaches dead pool at 895 feet. If Lake Powell reaches dead pool, the US Bureau of Reclamation—which declined our interview requests—would be unable to meet its obligation to deliver water downstream to Lake Mead. In which case, 40 million people would be affected.

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As mentioned, it's possible for the water level in Lake Mead to drop to the point where the dam cannot generate hydroelectric power. However, it's very unlikely that the lake would completely run out of water.

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Although Lake Mead gradually began filling again after Lake Powell reached the minimum pool required for power generation in that reservoir in 1965, full pool in Lake Mead was not reached again until 1983.

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The Bureau of Reclamation announced that the country's largest and second-largest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, saw improved water levels but recovery back to a full pool is a long way away, if ever.

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Lake Powell and Lake Mead are unlikely to refill for another 50 years - and would need SIX consecutive years of deadly atmospheric rivers to replenish.

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Lake Mead's dead pool levels are 895 feet above sea level, but power generation may cease at 950 feet, according to the National Parks service. Lake Mead's water levels have been forecast to drop as low as 992 feet by the end of July 2024, with experts predicting that dead pool may be reached in the next few years.

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Since 1983, years of drought along with high water demand have caused the lake to drop by 132 feet. Today, the lake is at only 30% capacity, its lowest level since it was built in the 1930s. Fortunately, heavy rainfall early in 2023 has relieved the situation a little, but only temporarily.

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If the Hoover Dam shuts down, it will have a ripple effect in the states of Nevada, Arizona, and California. There will be less water to go around, power will have to come from less clean sources, and all industries will be impacted some way or another.

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The Lake Mead problem could be resolved by draining Lake Powell and storing the water in Lake Mead. More than 5% of the water in the Colorado River evaporates off the surface of Lake Powell - which never should have been built.

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Still, the drought deficit is so large, experts say the West would need four or five more years of snowmelt like this year's to really fill up Powell and Mead.

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Studies show that a project like this would be possible, though it would take decades of construction and billions of dollars. Maybe even trillions.

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Powell's physical elevation is projected to be 3,574.30 feet on December 31, 2023. With intervening flows between Lake Powell and Lake Mead of 1.32 maf in CY 2023, Lake Mead's physical elevation is projected to be 1,065.42 feet on December 31, 2023.

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The amount of water that melted off and made its way into the river system was enough for the Bureau of Reclamation to release far more water from Glen Canyon Dam at Lake Powell this year, which means more water flowing downstream into Lake Mead.

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Lake Mead's water levels currently stand at 1,050.71 feet as of May 8. According to a Maximum Probable Inflow 24 month report released in April 2023, Lake Mead's water levels could rise to 1,060.30 feet by the end of July 2023. This, in other words, is a best-case scenario for the drought-stricken reservoir.

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Before the existence of Lake Mead, Lake Mohave, and Hoover Dam, the area encompassing the one and a half million acres of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area was occupied by early desert Indian cultures, adventurous explorers, ambitious pioneers looking for cheap land and religious freedom, and prospectors seeking ...

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