BOULDER CITY, Nev. – In a troubling marker for the Colorado River system, Lake Mead has sunk to an unprecedented low. This vital reservoir, which stands as the largest in the United States, has not been at such a depleted level since its filling nearly 90 years back.
Federal data reveals that on Friday, Lake Mead’s water level dipped to 1,040.4 feet (317.1 meters) above sea level. This places it just a hair under the previous record of 1,040.58 feet (317.27 meters), which had been set on July 28, 2022. Nestled on the border of Arizona and Nevada, just outside of Las Vegas, the reservoir is raising concerns among scientists and policymakers alike.
This development comes after an exceptionally dry winter, which yielded the smallest amount of snowpack ever recorded in the Colorado River Basin. This snowpack is crucial, as its meltwaters provide sustenance for the Colorado River—an essential water source for agriculture, industry, wildlife, power generation, and over 40 million residents spread across seven U.S. states, tribal nations, and Mexico.
Just a week ago, federal authorities proposed a short-term plan in an attempt to avert a looming catastrophe on this vital waterway. The intervention follows an impasse among river-reliant states—California, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah—over long-term water allocation strategies. The federal proposal suggests that California, Nevada, and Arizona should equally bear the brunt of necessary water reductions.
For decades, unchecked water use coupled with a harsh climate and rising temperatures have steadily siphoned water out of Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the nation’s second-largest reservoir. Currently, both reservoirs, central to the Colorado River system, register at their lowest levels since nearly 70 years ago.
To protect the strained system’s ability to produce hydropower, federal officials said Thursday that they will not release cool Lake Powell water from Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona to protect a threatened native fish whose habitat is between the reservoirs.
Severe drought in 2022 on Lake Mead, which is held back by the Hoover Dam, exposed human remains and forced water officials in Las Vegas to pump water from deeper within the reservoir to continue to supply water to millions of people.
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