Lake Mead & Drought

Lake Mead’s water levels have been dropping for years: caused by drought, overuse (despite implemented preventative measures), and dropping rain levels in general.

This issue has been considered a top priority in the West for a while– water is an incredibly invaluable and (unfortunately) sparse resource.

If you have seen my other posts, you may have noticed that I tend to write about drought a lot. Why? This past summer, I read a book called The Big Thirst, by Charles Fishman. This extremely well written book completely changed my perspective on the reality of Earth’s water situation. One thing in particular caught my attention: in several chapters of his book, Fishman discussed the struggles Las Vegas and surrounding areas were facing as a whole. Previously, the immense overuse of already dwindling reservoir water for purposes such as lavish casino fountains and elaborate golf courses (as well as providing water for permanent residents) had overtaken the city’s water supply. However, Nevada and Las Vegas officials changed the game. Their forward thinking capabilities remodeled the Las Vegas landscape– and their work should be an example for the rest of us. Now, did their work completely reverse the problems Lake Mead users were facing? No. But they did make a change in the way water is used and undoubtedly bought a bit of time. If you would like to learn more about their remodeling work and the world’s water crisis in general, I really recommend checking out The Big Thirst.

But back to Lake Mead; where are levels at right now? According to Brad Udall, a climate scientist at Colorado State University, “In the year 2000, the two reservoirs were 95% full. They’re roughly 25% full now.” That means in 23 years, Lake Mead levels have dropped 70%. Has the reservoir reached the point of no return?

Before I end this post, I want to give you some hope about Lake Mead’s future. Here’s a couple policies I recently learned about that will (fingers crossed!) help the water levels. First of all, the Bureau of Reclamation will be allocating $250 million in water conservation deals. These “dealings” basically entail paying people (mainly farmers) to not use as much water. It may not seem like much, but farming practices make up the majority of the world’s water use. More generally, Lake Mead is at a Tier 2 shortage; meaning states including Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona are forced to decrease water use by a certain percentage this year. There are many other tactics in place; feel free to check them out online or in a book.

To conclude, Lake Mead is certainly in trouble, but don’t lose hope for the future just yet. Hopefully officials have a couple more tricks up their sleeves to delay Lake Mead’s decline!