America’s Largest Reservoir Drains to Record Low As Western Drought Deepens

Hoover Dam holds back Lake Mead, America’s largest reservoir. The mineral-stained canyon walls are a growth chart in reverse, showing where the lake surface has been. Photo - J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue

ecowatch.com - by Brett Walton - July 7, 2014

Lake Mead—America’s largest reservoir, Las Vegas’ main water source and an important indicator for water supplies in the Southwest—will fall this week to its lowest level since 1937 when the manmade lake was first being filled, according to forecasts from the federal Bureau of Reclamation. . .

. . . the steadily draining lake does signal an era of new risks and urgency for an iconic and ebbing watershed that provides up to 40 million people in the U.S. and Mexico with a portion of their drinking water. The rules governing the river are complex, but the risk equation is straightforward: less supply due to a changing climate, plus increasing demands from new development, leads to greater odds of shortages.

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