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Drought-stricken Lake Mead falls to a level not seen since 1937
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K.M. CANNON/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
An aerial photo taken Saturday shows the marina operations in Lake Mead's Hemenway Harbor, just down the hill from Boulder City. All of the docks shown used to be located elsewhere but had to be moved to their present locations because of the reservoir's falling water level. » Buy this photo
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A "bathtub ring" of white rock marks a 128-foot drop in the water level of Lake Mead since 1999. This aerial photo was taken Saturday, the day before the reservoir shrank to its lowest level since 1937, when it was filled for the first time. K.M. CANNON/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL » Buy this photo
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Oct. 19, 2010 | 7:17 a.m.
Oddly, the drought's latest milestone arrived on a rainy day.
Just before noon Sunday, as thunderstorms closed in on the area, the surface of Lake Mead slipped three one-hundredths of an inch to a new low not seen for a lifetime.
The reservoir on the Colorado River hasn't been down this far since 1937, when it was being filled for the first time behind the newly completed Hoover Dam.
Since drought took hold on the Colorado and its tributaries in 1999, the surface of Lake Mead has plunged almost 130 feet and caused fits for the National Park Service and its marina operators who must extend roads, utilities and other services to reach the shrinking shoreline.
The lake's decline poses major problems for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which draws 90 percent of the Las Vegas Valley's drinking water from intake pipes that will start to shut down should the lake fall another 33 feet.
"I'm worried," authority General Manager Pat Mulroy said. "We're trying everything we can to keep as much water in Mead as we can."
The prognosis looks bleak. Mulroy said federal climate forecasters are predicting abnormally dry conditions during the next two winters in the mountains that feed the Colorado.
If the lake drops another 8 feet, federal officials will declare a shortage on the river, an unprecedented move that would cut Nevada's river share by about 6 percent.
The best Colorado River users can hope for at this point, Mulroy said, is to push that shortage declaration off for a year or two "and then hope the hydrology turns around."
The previous low-water mark for Mead came 54 years ago, on April 26, 1956, when the drought-stricken lake bottomed out at 1,083.19 feet above sea level.
According to the Bureau of Reclamation, the lake hit elevation 1,083.18 between 11 a.m. and noon Sunday and continued to fall. By Monday afternoon, it sank below elevation 1,083 as water was released through Hoover Dam to meet orders downstream from cities and farms in California and Arizona.
Projections by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation call for Lake Mead to reach a low point of 1,082.1 on Nov. 2. Then it is expected to rise by about 8 feet through the end of February before starting back down again.
Water forecasters expect the lake to hit another record low by May and shrink below elevation 1,077 by September.
Two things will happen at elevation 1,075: The federal government will declare the first-ever shortage on the river, and the Southern Nevada Water Authority board will vote on whether to build a controversial pipeline to tap groundwater across eastern Nevada.
Mulroy said the multibillion-dollar pipeline project would serve as a backup supply for the community, separate from the Colorado River.
The vote on whether to build it will come down to a simple choice, she said: "How much risk do you want to put yourselves in? What's your carrying capacity for risk?"
As for its intake pipes at Lake Mead, the authority is rushing to complete a third straw, at a cost of about $700 million, that will draw water from deeper in the reservoir.
A construction mishap in July delayed the project, but Mulroy said the community will have enough water to last it until the third intake goes online in time for peak summer demand in 2014.
The shrinking reservoir has left boat ramps high and dry and pushed marinas into deeper water.
A decade ago, Lake Mead was home to nine boat launch ramps and six marinas. Five ramps and four marinas remain open today.
"For us, it's business as usual. We've been dealing with low water for 10 years," said Andrew Muñoz, spokesman for Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
The big concern is paying for the work, which has totaled about $36 million since 2000.
Muñoz said the park service funded some of the low-water improvements with proceeds from the sale of federal land in the Las Vegas Valley, but that pot has all but dried up.
Chasing the water also proves costly for marina operators.
Gail Gripentog-Kaiser is manager and part-owner of Las Vegas Boat Harbor. Her family got into the marina business at Lake Mead in 1957, back when the water was "on its way back up" from its previous record low, she said.
Moving a marina into deeper water involves relocating as many as 250 concrete anchors, each weighing more than a ton. Then there is the extension of utility lines that carry water, fuel and electricity downhill and sewage back up. "That's a big expense," Gripentog-Kaiser said.
Callville Bay Resort and Marina was preparing for its next move when an Oct. 4 flash flood caused more than $1 million in damage to the operation.
Boaters still can't refuel at the marina, but all other services have been restored. The facility's private operators are moving the marina another 150 feet out from shore to stay ahead of the falling water level.
"It's the marina business, and I've been in it a long time," said Callville Bay General Manager Kim Roundtree, who has worked at Lake Mead since 1981. "You go with the flow."
Even at its lowest level since it was first filled, Lake Mead remains the largest man-made reservoir in the United States.
The falling water level has caused some problems with access, but it has also unveiled new coves and pristine beaches that used to be underwater, Roundtree said.
"It's a new adventure," Gripentog-Kaiser said of the changing lake. "There's still plenty of space to go re-create for everybody. Once you're out on the water, it's fantastic."
Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.
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Wowsa, the commentary was more interesting than the article. I too fear the overconsumption of water and overdevelopment of the planet. We live 90 feet off national park in Smokey Mountains. Also have a dam in the area and problems between agricultural and recreational demands on water. Will follow this story with interest. Thanks to all who are contributing to discussion/debate.
DUH! When you let more water out then comes in the level goes down. How many Ingineers did it take to figure that one out? Vegas has cut water consumption dramatically, why can't the poeple downstream do the same?
Tom having worked for the BLM back when environmentalism was a quaint idea I knwo this....the current "drought" is well within the normal fluctuations of this desert basin. There is no drought there is only normal water and overuse causing this....the drought is an excuse for poor planning....they are trying to sell the idea that the water is "coming back". I have news for everyone...the water is normal and the usage is HUGE....many hydrologists disagree we have a "drought" especially when we look at rainfall patterns for thousands of years....not drought it is spelled DESERT.
What we are witnessing is the beginning of a total apocalypse ! People have been glutens on the greatest natural resource.The ones being the most guilty are the home builders and the politicians who wont stand up for the state of Nevada.Capitalism,which is being more perverted in Nevada than probably any other state in the U.S.A !! "IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY".And Nevada is ruin for possibly the next ten years.LOOK AROUND FOLKS ! What do you see Empty houses,lack of water,lack of jobs and a RACIST in Ms Angle running against Senator Harry Reid.
well we're to blame for the lake being there in the first place so of course it's a product of our manipulation of mother nature. we are taxing the system too much.
Amazing that it's only Mother Nature's fault. Over building Las Vegas had NOTHING to do with it. We humans are not at all to blame. All the building permits were approved without concern for environment (read water). All the sales, bribes and commissions have been made. Since 60% of our water is used for irrigation, what will people do when they can't have green lawns or green trees in entire valley of Las Vegas?
If you think the real estate market is bad now, wait until the taps go dry.
I think we should build, build, build more more more housing. Wouldn't you agree?
http://lakepowell.water-data.com/index2.php look at "averages by year" if the page doesn't render. annual water levels aren't half truths. i was quoting directly from this database. but hey - think what you want. flame who you want. i'm all for taking care of the environment but don't need to be a drama queen or use sloppy stats ("Lowest level in 20 years") to get my point across. you're part of the problem man - if we confront global warming deniers with drama and insults we do nothing to educate them.
Jliily stop selectively using half facts.... go here you lying fool...
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http://www.usbr.gov/uc/crsp/charts/displaysites.jsp?40days=n
15 million acre-feet in 1993 and about the same today. Is Powell up from 2005.. yes...but it is only 2/3s the level it was in '99.
There is less fresh water in the west than has been for a long time. Welcome to gloabl warming weak minded one.. Now get in the LINE! Denyer!
@Jack Sprat if you're going to quote the "facts" interwebz, use them. In fact, Powell has been on the rebound since a low in 2005, and the reality behind your "lowest level in 20 years" wolf-crying is that the lake has been lower than it is now in 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, and 1992, in the last 20 years. It was also lower from '63 to '73 which, granted, could be because it was filling. Lake Powell has been lower than it is now 18 out of the 47 years it has existed, or 38% of the time for y'all who are in to percentages. PS Weak minded cowards spew things they read on HuffPo without fact checking first.
Tom.Reynolds... Wolfson just doesn't want to see grown men cry. So he sugar coats it with fake mitigation. The truth is being told by the smartest scientists on the planet and the weak minded children can't handle the truth so they simply deny. I could care less, I look forward to the decline of humanity. I generally like people, but I can't stand humanity. In about a 100 years, a few hundred thousand hairless talking monkeys will huddle around small portions of habitable environment in isolated conclaves. Lucky to still be a species. It HAS happened before, and it will apparently happen again thanks to 'head in the ground' weak minded cowards.