The United States' largest reservoir, Lake Mead, has reached its lowest level on record as the drought-stricken West faces a growing water crisis.
The giant reservoir created by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River outside Las Vegas has dropped to a new record-low elevation on Aug. 7, reaching 1,040.5 feet. The lake provides water for tens of millions of American homes, businesses and farmers, along with carbon-free hydroelectricity.
The lake elevation level has fallen every day since July 31, according to data from the Bureau of Reclamation. Elevation levels in the lake have been tracked since officials first began filling the reservoir in the 1930s. The lake hit its previous modern record-low level of 1,040.58 feet on July 28, 2022, before several subsequent wetter winters helped refill it.
"It's grim and we obviously need to do something – and fast," said Brad Udall, a senior climate scientist at Colorado State University's Colorado Water Center.
The last time Lake Mead was near this low in 2022, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., warned of "drastic consequences for Arizona and other Colorado Basin states." If levels at key reservoirs drop further, consequences could include the loss of hydropower generation and even "dead pool" conditions, where no water would flow out of Lake Mead.
In 2022, low water levels in Lake Mead revealed sunken boats, the remains of towns submerged to make the reservoir, and several bodies.
Lake Mead is the source of drinking water for about 25 million people, of a total of about 40 million served by the Colorado River Basin, including the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The river also supplies irrigation water for about 5 million acres of agricultural land, including California farms providing a significant portion of the nation's fruit and vegetables.
