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Vital Lake Mead Drops to Record Low Level
Newser • • general
Key Points:
- Lake Mead has reached its lowest water level since it was filled in the 1930s, dropping to 1,040.5 feet and surpassing its previous record low from 2022.
- The reservoir, created by the Hoover Dam, supplies water to over 20 million people and is one of two major reservoirs on the overtaxed Colorado River, alongside Lake Powell, which is also near record lows.
- Experts attribute the declining water levels to overallocation of the river's water and a persistent 25-year drought affecting the region.
- Federal officials have proposed a 10-year plan that could reduce water deliveries to lower-basin states—California, Nevada, and Arizona—by up to 3 million acre-feet annually, with specific cuts expected through 2028.
- Under the current plan, upper-basin states including Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Colorado would not face mandatory water delivery reductions.
