The lake last approached full capacity in the summers of 1983 and 1999.
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Key Points. Lake Mead has dropped by 70% due to droughts in the West and it will take many years to refill again, naturally. The reservoir is vitally important to millions of people as a source of water, electricity, and recreation.
It causes catastrophic flooding, and much of the water runs off rather than soaking into the land or filling reservoirs. About 60% of the area still is in drought. It would actually take six more years of heavy rainfall in a row to refill the Lake Mead reservoir completely.
Electricity would not just be the only thing lost. Without Lake Mead, Las Vegas would lose access to 90 percent of its water sources. If Lake Mead were to reach dead pool, it would technically still be able to supply drinking water to Las Vegas. But there will not be enough water for agricultural activities.
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.
As of May 31, 2022, Lake Mead held 26.63% of full capacity at 7.517 million acre-feet (9,272,000 megaliters), having dropped in June 2021 below the reservoir's previous all-time low of 9.328 million acre-feet (11,506,000 megaliters) recorded in July 2016, and never returning to that level.
Lake Powell is massive. This artificial lake stores up to 25,166,000 acre-feet when it is full, making it just 3,064,000 acre-feet smaller than Lake Mead, the largest artificial lake in America.
The fact remains that it's only a third full, but it's a big improvement over last year. In fact, the lake is 23 feet higher today than its low point in July of 2022. With every inch Lake Mead rises, 2 billion gallons are added.
As of July 18, 2022, Lake Mead was filled to just 27 percent of capacity. The largest reservoir in the United States supplies water to millions of people across seven states, tribal lands, and northern Mexico.
If the reservoir dips below 895 feet (272.8 meters) – about 150 feet (45 meters) lower than where it is now – Lake Mead would reach what's called dead-pool level. Dead pool is when water in a reservoir drops so low that it can't flow downstream from the dam.
But that heavy rainfall likely had little effect on Lake Mead's water levels. The reservoir sat at about 1,063.4 feet in elevation when the rains started on Friday. By Monday night, it had ticked up to 1,063.8.
LAKE MEAD, Nev.– After a wet winter boosted water levels in Lake Mead, the drought-stricken reservoir also received beneficial rain from an unusual source for the Southwest.