Posted on 06/21/2022 3:06:26 PM PDT by blam
The surface of Lake Mead, North America’s largest artificial reservoir, now stands at 1044 feet above sea level and is dropping fast. If Lake Mead’s water level falls another 149 feet, a dangerous level known as a “dead pool” could wreak havoc across Southwestern US.
Since the beginning of March, Lake Mead has dropped about 23 feet, and compared with the 5-year trend, the reservoir’s water levels are well below average, at the lowest point since the lake was filled nearly a century ago.
A graph might not do justice to visualizing just how fast the water level has fallen. So here are three pictures of a sunken speedboat in the lake and the corresponding date. Just in May, the boat was partially submerged. Now there’s no water.
If Lake Mead were to keep dropping, it could be a couple of years until a danger zone at 895 feet is reached, which is the point water would no longer pass through Hoover Dam to supply California, Arizona, and Mexico. Below 895 feet, the lake would be considered a “dead pool.”
BREAKING: Lake Mead has now dropped to 1044.39 feet in elevation for the first time since the lake was filled nearly 100 years ago.
This is a loss of 1.18 feet or 14.2″ in the last 7 days when I last reported on this.
Dead pool is now < 150 feet away.https://t.co/7fUfKF4exK pic.twitter.com/5TBQgvcntt
— Edgar McGregor (@edgarrmcgregor) June 20, 2022
For more context of what’s happened over the last three decades as a megadrought grips the US West, here’s a view of the spillway of the Hoover Dam in 1983 versus 2021.
Weather satellites have captured an absolutely stunning view of the lake rapidly shrinking in the last two years.
Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the 2 largest reservoirs in the US, which provide water to over 40 million Americans in Nevada, Arizona and California, are at their lowest levels ever.
This will have unprecedented consequences and require drastic water restrictions never seen before. pic.twitter.com/VSb6ZMtPRq
— US StormWatch (@US_Stormwatch) June 15, 2022
A lake observer on YouTuber shows how the water level has dangerously dropped in the last two weeks.
If cali ever declares its leaving the water should be the first thing cut off immediately.
It will literally devastate them. Shoot anyone trying to cross over.
California could build 100 new reservoirs easily. In a year. If they won’t then That’s on them.
What, they don’t teach paragraphs at law school? :)
I bet there is mostly environmental crap at the root of this.
Now that was hard-hitting and funny as hell Scrambler.
“Just what we need, in addition to all the other troubles...a water shortage!”
I bet it will turn out to be the Russian’s fault!
Vegas gonna be ok they just put online their “Third straw” they put a tunnel under Lake Mead into the deep waters under the dead pool elevation by 35 feet. Dead pool is at 895’ MSL the third intake draws from 860’MSL and has a 100’ riser above the actual bottom of the intake structure that they could plasma cut holes in down to the base level if they had too. They won’t ever need too. Once dead pool is reached all water flowing down the Colorado River is trapped behind Hoover dam at no point in history has the river flow been below 2 million acre feet per year the lowest ever recorded was 4 million and paleoclimate data shows that even during the Mega drought 1800 years ago stream flow was above 1.5 million acre feet. That’s more than three times what the whole state of Nevada is allowed. That means Vegas will never be dry it’s impossible once they put in the intake below the dead pool elevation. Arizona,California and Mexico are screwed at that point. In theory you could drill out the 1930s era original bypass tunnel concrete plugs and let water out at 750’ MSL that would be uncontrolled flow and would end the use forever of Hoover dam in other words never happening. Once deadpool is reached only Vegas gets water.
“Putin’s water shortage”
Love it!!! (-:
I don’t really believe these threats.
But, ok, if so build dams.
It’s not like we don’t know how to completely remedy the situation.
Government and libs, though, don’t believe in addressing problems and fixing things. They want to use problems to their own benefit and power
Last year California reservoirs were brimming. Then they drained them all, opening the floodgates.
I could care less about formatting on a mobile device. Deal with it. I am a PhD scientist first in hydrogeology and petroleum geology. I have worked for the USGS on sedimentary and hydrological studies at Lake Mead it was my backyard for a few years. The grammar police can ESAD the facts are accurate Google scholar is your friend so is EBSCO and SciDirect
I’ve always wanted a nation wide water system where pipes can lower or replentish water if needed.
Well, I guess it’s time to go get my boat out of the lake....
Ummm - did you ever think about the Large amount of FOOD that the US gets from Cali agriculture?
HELLO!?
This means that everybody in the Desert Southwest (about 15 million people in places like Phoenix and Las Vegas) could easily be accommodated here in metro New York City area with plenty of room to spare and plenty of water to go around.
So things are not as bad as they seem.
If you're so smart why don't you get a sense of humor?
Well, you guys better start desalinating, because the Great Lakes are CLOSED.
We’ve wathed Kali squander its resources and advantages so they could coddle invaders of our nation. They...get...nothing.
Seem to recall a verse about God withholding the rains.....might be a good idea to start praying and asking for forgiveness.
Lake Powell is still coming up.
They are releasing only 10k cu/ft per second.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.