After years living with a lingering sense of doom, residents have taken some pleasure in seeing Lake Mead fill up a little bit on the strength of a record snowpack for the Colorado River. The fact remains that it’s only a third full, but it’s a big improvement over last year. In fact, the lake is 23 feet higher today than its low point in July of 2022.
Maybe you’ve heard that Lake Mead is on the rise again. It’s up a little more than it was a year ago, about 20 feet higher than where it was at this time last year. They released more from Lake Powell upstream in April. Plus, we had a very snowy winter. Snowmelt from the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains feeds the Colorado River. But everyone who lives in Las Vegas or Northern Nevada knows that this all just a mirage. One wet winter does not overturn more than 20 years of drought.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
