Higher runoff will raise lake

Tuesday, May 20, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

More late spring snowfall in the Colorado River Basin stretching from Wyoming to the Mexican border spells higher than normal runoff, the Colorado River Forecasting Service said.

The latest prediction is 12 million acre feet, or a runoff of 155 percent above normal. In a mid-April forecast, the service projected 11 million acre feet, or 142 percent of normal.

The federal Bureau of Reclamation predicts that Lake Mead will rise to 1,214 feet by January 1998, then drop nine feet by June 1998.

The bureau will continue to issue weekly projections as spring months continue.

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