The Water Crisis of Lake Mead, Nevada
Faculty Mentor
Richard Orndorff
Document Type
Poster
Start Date
10-5-2023 9:00 AM
End Date
10-5-2023 10:45 AM
Location
PUB NCR
Department
Geology
Abstract
The Colorado River flows from the western flanks of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado to the Gulf of California and is the primary water source for millions of residents of the southwestern United States. When Hoover Dam was completed in 1935, it created Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States. At its fullest, Lake Mead holds 2 years of Colorado River flow. Lake Mead provides water to the cities of Las Vegas, Boulder City and Henderson, NV, and it provides electricity for Los Angeles, CA. Hoover Dam and the upstream Glen Canyon Dam regulate the amount of water in the Colorado River. Unfortunately, due to aridity and continuing high demand for water from both Lake Mead and Lake Powell, lake levels are dropping significantly. Lake Mead is expected to drop 20 feet within the next year. With levels dropping at an alarming rate, residents of southern Nevada are experiencing a water shortage crisis in what is already one of the driest areas in the nation, the Mojave Desert. We discuss the severity of the crisis, as well as the impacts on residents of the region.
Recommended Citation
Toulou, Erin and Ollero, Marley, "The Water Crisis of Lake Mead, Nevada" (2023). 2023 Symposium. 17.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2023/res_2023/p1_2023/17
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
The Water Crisis of Lake Mead, Nevada
PUB NCR
The Colorado River flows from the western flanks of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado to the Gulf of California and is the primary water source for millions of residents of the southwestern United States. When Hoover Dam was completed in 1935, it created Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States. At its fullest, Lake Mead holds 2 years of Colorado River flow. Lake Mead provides water to the cities of Las Vegas, Boulder City and Henderson, NV, and it provides electricity for Los Angeles, CA. Hoover Dam and the upstream Glen Canyon Dam regulate the amount of water in the Colorado River. Unfortunately, due to aridity and continuing high demand for water from both Lake Mead and Lake Powell, lake levels are dropping significantly. Lake Mead is expected to drop 20 feet within the next year. With levels dropping at an alarming rate, residents of southern Nevada are experiencing a water shortage crisis in what is already one of the driest areas in the nation, the Mojave Desert. We discuss the severity of the crisis, as well as the impacts on residents of the region.
