Lake Mead water level to hit 30-year low

Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2002 | 9:17 a.m.

Lake Mead is expected to drop to its lowest point in 30 years, a result of dry conditions and increasing demand for water, the federal Bureau of Reclamation reported this week.

Despite the drop in the water level, there is still plenty of water for use by the seven states that share the liquid resource supplied by the Colorado River for human, agricultural and industrial needs, local and federal authorities say.

Interior Secretary Gale Norton declared a surplus of water on the Colorado River this year, because the seven states along the river were not using their full shares. Any unused allotment can be used by California or Nevada.

The lake is expected to measure 1,161 feet deep by Sept. 30, down from 1,176 feet now, bureau spokesman Bob Walsh said.

Depending on snow and rainfall, the river rises and falls on a year-to-year basis, but usually not as much as the expected drop this year, he said.

In 1972 the lake dropped to 1,154.5 feet, the lowest level in the previous 30 years, according to bureau records.

After the 1972 low, the lake's water level gradually rose over the next two decades, including a consistent rise since 1991.

The pattern reversed last year.

Federal river watchers say the problem is partly due to drier-than-normal weather, which could impact the lake's water level for years. Still, they believe there is water for users, among them 1.4 million customers in Clark County.

The low water levels could change quickly. Heavy snowfall could lead to a good spring meltoff in Wyoming, Montana and Colorado. Late spring snow storms and an early melt in May 1983 contributed to a devastating flood along the Colorado River in 1983.

"The lake has its ups and downs," Walsh said.