Lake Mead

Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States. It was formed in the mid-1930s after the damming of the Colorado River with the construction of Hoover Dam. Located along the Arizona-Nevada border, it is part of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, the country’s first national recreation area. It is a popular place for a variety of recreational activities such as boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, camping, hunting, and biking.

By July 2022, the lake had reached its lowest level since April 1937 due to a twenty-two-year mega-drought in the Southwestern United States. The low water levels affected recreational activities like boating at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The water levels also affected the generation of hydroelectric power at the Hoover Dam and the ability to provide drinking water to the twenty-five million people who rely on Lake Mead. The lowering shorelines also revealed once-buried items including trash, an old ghost town that was flooded with the creation of the lake, and even human remains.

Brief History

Lake Mead is one of the largest humanmade lakes in North America and the largest reservoir in the United States. Located along the Arizona-Nevada border, 25 miles east of Las Vegas, Nevada, it supplies water to about 25 million people across seven states, in tribal lands, and in Mexico. The lake extends 115 miles upstream and spans from 1 to 10 miles wide. The lake has 750 miles of shoreline and was named after Elwood Mead, who was the commissioner of the US Bureau of Reclamation from 1924–1936.

Lake Mead was formed by the damming of the Colorado River in the 1930s. Construction of the Hoover Dam started in 1931, and as it reached its completion in 1936, Lake Mead was born. By February 1935, the lake began to fill to 708.70 feet, and by July 1941, it had reached 1,220.40 feet. The dam was dedicated on September 30, 1935, and the lake and surrounding area were named the Boulder Dam Recreation Area, America’s first national recreation area.

St. Thomas, Nevada, was a small town that was flooded when Lake Mead first filled in the 1930s. Once a Mormon settlement, the town was a popular stopping point between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City along the Arrowhead Trail. The last citizen of St. Thomas rowed out of town in 1938. At one time, the town was flooded 60 feet above its tallest structure, but now visitors can view the ghost town, which has been exposed due to drought.

In 1948, a B-29 Superfortress that was performing high altitude atmospheric research crashed into Lake Mead. A crew of five survived the crash, but the plane was lost in the lake. In 2001, some local divers re-discovered the plane.

The Boulder Dam Recreation Area was renamed Lake Mead National Recreation Area. It is America’s largest national recreation area and includes Lake Mohave, which is known for sandy coves. People come to Lake Mead National Recreation Area for boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, camping, hunting, and biking. Lake Mohave was formed after the construction of the Davis Dam, which was completed in 1950. The lake was officially dedicated on December 10, 1952.

Lake Mead Today

Lake Mead reached its highest point, 1225.44 feet, in July 1983. By July 2022, water levels reached their lowest since April 1937 as the lake sat at just 27 percent capacity. This continued a twenty-two-year downward trend. According to the National Park Service (NPS), this is due to an ongoing drought caused by climate change and has reshaped the park’s shorelines. According to NASA scientists, the recession of Lake Mead came at a time when 74 percent of nine Western states faced some level of drought, and 35 percent of the area was in an extreme or exceptional drought. In response to drought conditions and falling water levels at Lake Mead, the reservoir’s low-level pumps, constructed in 2020 to prepare for worsening drought conditions, were turned on for the first time.

Receding shorelines affect recreational activities such as boating. As the lake continues to recede, extending boat launch ramps becomes more difficult and expensive due to the topography and projected decline in water levels. As of August 2022, several boat ramps were closed due to low water levels.

Dropping water levels have also revealed what was once hidden underwater. In addition to the ghost town of St. Thomas, people started to find trash such as beer cans, sunglasses, baby strollers, and tackle boxes; boats, including a World War II era craft; and even human bodies. On May 1, 2022, a boater noticed a barrel stuck in the mud, which contained a body. Las Vegas police theorize that it was a murder victim who died by gunshot and may have been dumped in the lake in the late 1970s or early 1980s. About a week later, two sisters discovered skeletal remains while paddle boarding. On July 25, the NPS announced the discovery of another set of human remains at Swim Beach.

Lake Mead is integral to producing hydroelectric power through the Hoover Dam, and low water levels hinder power generation. According to the US Bureau of Reclamation, the minimum power pool elevation for Lake Mead for Hoover Dam to generate power is 950 feet—at this point, the dam can produce electricity, but the turbines that have not been upgraded over the past decade will operate in the “rough zone,” according to a spokesperson. Even at higher water levels, power generation is hindered because the higher the lake level, the higher the force of the water as it drops to spin electricity generating turbines. As of May 2022, hydroelectric power at the Hoover Dam was down by 33 percent due to the mega-drought affecting the Southwest and declining water levels at Lake Mead.

In response to the water crisis at Lake Mead, the US Bureau of Reclamation and Southwestern water managers implemented measures to manage water flow into the Colorado River and regulate water use among states in the region. Starting in January 2022, states that rely on water from the lower Colorado River were subjected to Tier 1 shortage cuts. Additional cuts may necessitate moving to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cuts in 2023. The US House of Representatives took measures to address the issue on July 29, 2022, by passing legislation to provide five-hundred-million dollars to raise water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell.

Bibliography

“America’s First National Recreation Area.” National Park Service, 24 May 2021, www.nps.gov/lake/index.htm. Accessed 7 Aug. 2022.

“Colorado River Shortage 2022 Fact Sheet.” Arizona Department of Water Resources, 2022, new.azwater.gov/sites/default/files/media/ADWR-CAP-FactSheet-CoRiverShortage-081321.pdf. Accessed Aug. 2022.

“Current Conditions at Lake Mead & Lake Mohave.” National Park Service, 27 July 2022, www.nps.gov/lake/learn/news/lakeconditions.htm. Accessed 7 Aug. 2022.

Haas, Greg. “Hoover Dam power production down 33%, official says.” 8 News Now, 26 May 2022, www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/hoover-dam-power-production-down-33-official-says/. Accessed 7 Aug. 2022.

Imster, Eleanor. “Shrinking Lake Mead reveals bodies and boats.” EarthSky, 3 Aug. 2022, earthsky.org/earth/lake-mead-shrinking-reveals-bodies-boats/. Accessed 7 Aug. 2022.

“Lake Mead Historic Timeline.” National Park Service, 5 Oct. 2021, home.nps.gov/lake/learn/news/timeline.htm. Accessed 7 Aug. 2022.

“St. Thomas, Nevada.” National Park Service, 19 Oct. 2020, www.nps.gov/lake/learn/nature/st-thomas-nevada.htm. Accessed 7 Aug. 2022.