Lake Mead water levels drop closer to dead pool status

Water levels at Lake Mead dropped to historic lows this week with persistent drought exacerbated by climate change and increased water demands driving the reservoir closer to becoming a “dead pool.”

The nation’s largest reservoir on Thursday measured at 1,043.8 feet, its lowest level since the lake was filled in the 1930s.

The minimum elevation to generate power at Hoover Dam is 1,050 feet, according to the National Park Service. Below this level, the reservoir would be considered an “inactive pool.” However, Patti Aaron, public affairs officer for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Lower Colorado region told the Boulder City Review back in May that Hoover Dam will still be able to produce hydropower below this level. She stated the new threshold where the dam would no longer be able to produce power is at 950 feet.

Should the water levels fall below 895 feet, the reservoir will become a dead pool, meaning water levels will be too low to reach the lowest water outlet at Hoover Dam and flow downstream.



"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861