“When we see even significant rainfall in the Las Vegas Valley and the benefit to Lake Mead from that rainfall and all of that runoff, you are looking at, at best, tenths of an inch in changes.
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“While the amount of precipitation received from the recent storms in the lower basin and from tributary inflows helps, the greatest source of water for Lake Mead is still from snow melt and flows from the upper basin — especially from good winter snowpack from the west slope of the Rocky Mountains,” Hendrix said.
Most of our rainwater travels untreated through gutters, storm drains, channels, washes and eventually into the major source of our drinking water - Lake Mead. All storm drains lead to lake mead. Stormwater that falls in the Las Vegas Valley picks up pollutants and travels untreated to Lake Mead.
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.
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.
Rain runoff into the tributaries that eventually feed into Lake Mead contributed about 112,000 acre-feet more water than what the bureau projected, which accounted for about 1.6 feet of the reservoir's rise, Helms said.
A team of scientists at UCLA estimated that from 2000 to 2021, rising temperatures led to the loss of about 32.5 million acre-feet of water in the Colorado River Basin, more than the entire storage capacity of Lake Mead, the country's largest reservoir.
“Although every drop counts, the reality is that the rain we received from Tropical Storm Hilary and runoff into the tributaries that enter Lake Mead as well as reduced releases from Hoover Dam — due to a decrease in downstream demand — has had some minor impact on the lake's elevation,” according to U.S. Bureau of ...
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.
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. The WY 2023 unregulated inflow into Lake Powell in the August Probable Maximum inflow scenario is 13.75 maf, or 143% of average.
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.
Lake Mead's water level continues to fall to historic lows, bringing the reservoir less than 150 feet away from “dead pool” — so low that water cannot flow downstream from the dam. The loss of water entirely from this source would be catastrophic.
Water taken directly from Lake Mead, the Colorado River or the underground water table isn't safe for people to drink, but those are the sources of Southern Nevada's drinking water.
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.
There are many places to swim in the bright blue waters of Lake Mead and Lake Mohave. Be aware that there are no lifeguards in the park. Always wear a life jacket. Most fatalities at Lake Mead National Recreation Area could have been avoided if the person in the water was wearing a life jacket.