Lake Mead Could Become ‘Dead Pool’ If Level Falls 150 Feet

Lake Mead, the Colorado River dam near Las Vegas that is the nation’s largest reservoir, could become a “dead pool” if its level falls another 150 feet, placing its surface above the intakes for the Hoover Dam’s power generators.

NBC News reported last month that the lake is approaching “dead pool” status, which the Los Angeles Times explained last week: “The lake’s surface is at about 1,045 feet above sea level. If it drops another 150 feet, there will not be enough water flowing through Hoover Dam to supply large metropolitan centers downstream, including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Diego. When that happens, Lake Mead will be a ‘dead pool.'”

The receding waters are revealing detritus on the bottom of the reservoir, as the Times adds: “In recent weeks, lots of things have resurfaced, including dead bodies, formerly sunken boats and trash.”

The lower water level is also threatening water supplies to surrounding states, as well as endangering the power generation capacity of the Hoover Dam. Earlier this year, as Breitbart News noted, the hydroelectric turbines were shut off for the first time at the Oroville Dam in neighboring California, the country’s highest dam, after the water levels temporarily fell to levels too low to sustain power generating capacity.

The reason Lake Mead is dropping is a persistent drought in the American West, now in its third year in some places. It is the second such major drought in less than a decade. State and local authorities have begun imposing water consumption restrictions in response.

Environmentalists also blame climate change for the lower water levels, arguing that temperatures are rising and leading to more severe droughts. However, the link between climate change and precipitation is uncertain.

Others argue that the American West may have had an unusual amount of rainfall during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when much of it was settled, creating unrealistic expectations that must now be adjusted to the climate’s long-term reality.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.