{"id":1706,"date":"2026-06-17T19:04:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T19:04:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1706"},"modified":"2026-06-17T19:04:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T19:04:59","slug":"lake-meads-slow-demise-just-sped-up-in-latest-federal-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1706","title":{"rendered":"Lake Mead\u2019s slow demise just sped up in latest federal study"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
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By Alan Halaly, Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/strong><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS \u2014 The reservoir that serves as Southern Nevada\u2019s main water supply is headed for an even more painful decline than thought due to historic drought and recent water management decisions, according to federal forecasters.<\/p>\n

Read more Final rules for Medicaid work requirements are out. Here\u2019s what you need to know<\/a><\/p>\n

Lake Mead could plummet to 1,015.77 feet above sea level in July 2027, far below any level seen since the reservoir was filled in the late 1930s. After that, though projections are less reliable the further into the future they go, water managers expect only a small uptick until another record low is set at 1,011.74 feet in May 2028.<\/p>\n

That low level is nearly 29 feet below the reservoir\u2019s all-time low set in 2022. On Monday, the reservoir was almost 29 percent full at about 1,047 feet above sea level.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very grim,\u201d said Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University. \u201cWe didn\u2019t expect good news. But the study underscores, again, that we\u2019re in a really bad place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s study is a noticeable departure from what scientists had predicted. Last month\u2019s two-year study from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation had the most probable lowest level at 1020.76 feet for July 2027.<\/p>\n

Eric Kuhn, retired general manager of the Colorado River Water Conservation District in Colorado, said in an interview that it\u2019s a reflection of water managers taking a somewhat different approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve reduced it significantly, reflecting what I\u2019m thinking is a more conservative approach that considers what happens if next year is drier,\u201d Kuhn said.<\/p>\n

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The news comes months after the Bureau of Reclamation\u2019s emergency decision to prop up Lake Powell by moving water in from an upstream reservoir and reducing flows into Lake Mead. Current levels at Lake Mead should already reflect the change, Kuhn said.<\/p>\n

Below 1,035 feet in elevation at Lake Mead, hydropower generation at Hoover Dam is significantly reduced. A recently freed-up batch of $52 million in federal funds is going toward new wide-head turbines that can function at lower levels, however.<\/p>\n

Within every margin of error, Lake Mead is approaching unprecedented territory. But it\u2019s not an immediate cause for alarm just yet for the livelihood of Southern Nevada or the some 25 million people who rely on the reservoir.<\/p>\n

Late last month, a group of top Colorado River experts, including Kuhn, warned that the larger basin is one dry winter away from what they called \u201csystem crash.\u201d The newest projection shows Lake Mead a few inches closer to that reality.<\/p>\n

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After that point \u2014 3,500 feet in elevation at Lake Powell and 975 feet at Lake Mead \u2013 the two reservoirs become effectively useless for storing extra water due to infrastructure constraints that mean anything below those elevations isn\u2019t considered realistically accessible.<\/p>\n

Kuhn notes that even under the worst-case scenario for Lake Mead forecast on Monday, it still has a ways to go before reaching 895 feet in elevation, a so-called \u201cdead pool\u201d that would mean Lake Mead could no longer send any water downstream.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a cushion,\u201d Kuhn said, adding that even in the most conservative estimates, Lake Mead is \u201cstill well above its dead pool. But it doesn\u2019t look good.\u201d<\/p>\n

The worst snow season on record and the decline of the nation\u2019s two biggest reservoirs are happening as the seven Colorado River states brace for a new short-term agreement for how to share mandatory water cutbacks.<\/p>\n

Read more Luigi Mangione will assert psychiatric defense in murder case in UnitedHealthcare CEO\u2019s killing<\/a><\/p>\n

State officials have failed over multiple years to come to an agreement, and the Trump administration will impose one instead, which could lead to a legal battle at the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

Porter, of Arizona State University, said the most pronounced effects of a system crash will be toward the agricultural sectors of California and Arizona, which produce the lion\u2019s share of the nation\u2019s winter vegetables.<\/p>\n

\u201cCities have backup plans of falling back on stored groundwater that can help immediately when the river gets really low,\u201d Porter said. \u201cI think the real pain, potentially, could be going to agriculture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Southern Nevada, one of the fastest-growing regions in the nation, has robust plans for its water supply that take into account different potential scenarios for upcoming winters.<\/p>\n

Water managers do not anticipate slowing economic growth because of the water crisis, but they are doing what they can to ensure that building doesn\u2019t push the valley\u2019s use outside of the boundaries of its permanent, verifiable water supplies.<\/p>\n

A water authority spokesman said last month that the agency has 10 years\u2019 worth of water stored for Southern Nevada\u2019s use between what it has in Lake Mead and water banked in groundwater aquifers in the Lower Colorado River Basin states of Nevada, California and Arizona.<\/p>\n

In 2015, the Southern Nevada Water Authority completed construction on the third intake and low-level pumping station at Lake Mead, allowing regional water managers to access water at 875 feet of elevation, below the dead pool level.<\/p>\n

Porter said Southern Nevada has been at the forefront of urban water conservation, but conservation in urban cities alone, such as ripping out grass or outlawing evaporative coolers, isn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lower Basin is pulling together and trying really hard to figure out what we can do to mitigate against catastrophic consequences,\u201d Porter said. \u201cBut when there\u2019s no water, there\u2019s not much you can do. We can\u2019t conserve enough to save this system.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Southern Nevada Water Authority has recently signed an agreement to explore a water transfer so Southern Nevada could benefit from a San Diego desalination plant.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., said the study is proof of the rapid acceleration of drought.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must use every tool at our disposal to maintain our water supply \u2014 including the option of buying desalinated water in San Diego,\u201d Titus said. \u201cWe also need to add and adopt sustainable growth actions rather than capriciously releasing land for development. We can no longer wait to take action.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a92026 Las Vegas Review-Journal. Visit reviewjournal.com.. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Loveland City Council approves tourism district to boost visits, events<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lake Mead could plummet to 1,015.77 feet above sea level in July 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nLake Mead\u2019s slow demise just sped up in latest federal study - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1706\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lake Mead\u2019s slow demise just sped up in latest federal study - Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lake Mead could plummet to 1,015.77 feet above sea level in July 2027.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1706\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-17T19:04:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1706#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1706\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"headline\":\"Lake Mead\u2019s slow demise just sped up in latest federal study\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T19:04:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1706\"},\"wordCount\":1058,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1706#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/3a61842b59be7c5e288829e571b87564.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Environment\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1706#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1706\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1706\",\"name\":\"Lake Mead\u2019s slow demise just sped up in latest federal study - 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