What is the outlook for Lake Mead?

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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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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The water levels for Lake Mead are projected to reach slightly over 1,065 feet by January 2024, according to the Bureau of Reclamation, in large part due to an extremely wet winter that eased the effects of the longstanding drought. In October 2022, the water levels were at a historic low, at roughly 1,046 feet.

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The water levels for Lake Mead are projected to reach slightly over 1,065 feet by January 2024, according to the Bureau of Reclamation, in large part due to an extremely wet winter that eased the effects of the longstanding drought. In October 2022, the water levels were at a historic low, at roughly 1,046 feet.

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“It has some impact, but it's not very much. I don't think you would notice Lake Mead appreciably rising just from the results of big rainstorms,” Miller said. After years of mostly seeing its water levels fall, Lake Mead has steadily risen since April.

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Under the Probable Maximum scenario, Lake Powell's physical elevation is projected to be 3,583.38 feet on December 31, 2023. With intervening flows between Lake Powell and Lake Mead of 1.35 maf in CY 2023, Lake Mead's physical elevation is projected to be 1,066.20 feet on December 31, 2023.

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The water levels for Lake Mead are projected to reach slightly over 1,065 feet by January 2024, according to the Bureau of Reclamation, in large part due to an extremely wet winter that eased the effects of the longstanding drought. In October 2022, the water levels were at a historic low, at roughly 1,046 feet.

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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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What happens if Lake Mead dries up forever? If Lake Mead were to run out of water, the Hoover Dam would no longer be able to generate power or provide water to surrounding cities and farms. The Colorado River would essentially stop flowing, and the Southwest would be in a major water crisis.

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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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Officials have warned that dead pool could be reached by 2025, if the lake continues drying up at the rate it is currently.

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Lake Mead provides water to the states of Arizona, California, and Nevada as well as some of Mexico, providing sustenance to nearly 20 million people and large areas of farmland.

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The last time Lake Mead was at maximum capacity, reaching an elevation of about 1,220 feet near the dam, was in 1983 and 1999, NASA notes.

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Lake Mead is considered at full capacity when water levels reach 1,220 feet above sea level, but it's able to hold a maximum of 1,229 feet of water. The last time the lake approached this capacity was in the summer of 1983.

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As crazy as it sounds, engineers say the idea is technically feasible. It would involve building a system of dams and pipelines to move the water uphill across multiple states over the Continental Divide. Gravity would then work in our favor to drop the water down to the Colorado River watershed.

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If the water levels dip much lower, the Colorado's northernmost reservoir won't have enough in the tank to both fill Lake Mead downstream and generate any hydropower, which would have devastating effects on the electricity grid in the western US.

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Lake Mead water levels up after snowy winter, former Hurricane Hilary. Lake Mead water levels were at record low levels last summer but snow over the winter and former Hurricane Hilary helped restore some water to the basin.

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Not exactly. The tropical storm brought nearly a monsoon season's worth of precipitation in just a few days. But that heavy rainfall likely had little effect on Lake Mead's water levels.

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