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Historical and Present Lake Mead Water Levels

Copyright © 2022, Paul Lutus — Message Page.

Latest chart update:

The Power Pool refers to the lowest water level at which power generation is possible. The Dead Pool, on the other hand, is the minimum water level required for water to be released from the reservoir.

These charts are dynamically updated. The chart draws and presents data from a government archive of water storage/height at Mead Lake, dating back to 1935. This page reads data from a database located at https://www.Usbr.Gov/uc/water/hydrodata/. The page’s graphic updates itself regularly, providing an easy-to-interpret picture of Mead Lake’s water data over time.

After I revise the responsible code, the graphic drawing that shows the data of water in Lake Mead will be moved or removed from this page until the data source page disappears.

In the past few years, I have been able to paddle my kayak from Ferry Pearce on the east end of Lake Mead into the very pretty western Grand Canyon, but the dried up lake has made it impossible to enjoy the outing until the water rises again.Output: Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to kayak from Ferry Pearce on the eastern edge of Lake Mead to the remarkably beautiful western section of the Grand Canyon. However, the desiccated lake has rendered the excursion unenjoyable until the water levels increase once more.

Click here to see the corresponding water heights in Mead Lake. To oversee the operation of filling Powell Lake with more water, people assume that it took 17 years, from 1966 to 1983, to completely fill it. During times of rapid flow, Powell Lake took more water from Mead Lake upstream, smoothing out the flow and reducing the peaks.

The first priority is to address the water demands of California, which include proposed measures of water rationing. Ironically, these measures will automatically trigger emergency measures agreed upon by seven nearby states that depend on Lake Mead’s water. If the water level of Lake Mead drops below 1075 feet, this critical shortage will occur in the Southwest. Briefly, this update comes from the New York Times article “Water Use in Times of Crisis” (2010).

The meaning of the labels above the ration chart and pump limit is provided in the linked article. Many experts believe that the current drought is only a harbinger of a new era of drier conditions in Colorado, where the flow of the river will be permanently and substantially diminished. The Colorado River, which flows from the Rockies to southern Arizona, is being sapped by nearly 14 years of unrivaled drought, leading to further declines in its flow and causing increasing concern. More details about the concerning decline in the flow of the Colorado River can be found in the updated article “Forces of Drought: A Painful Reckoning for the Colorado River” from The New York Times (2014).