Lake Mead reaches a record low | EarthSky.org

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I can really relate to this since the lake I live by was down to 32% during the worst of the Texas drought a few years ago. Fortunately, now it’s nearly full again. The sad truth is that droughts always end with a flood. Hopefully they’ll be prepared when it finally hits.

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Lake Mead – largest U.S. reservoir, as measured by water capacity – has reached a record low. Space images from 2016 and 1984 show its highs and lows.

Source: Lake Mead reaches a record low | EarthSky.org

14 thoughts on “Lake Mead reaches a record low | EarthSky.org”

  1. Seems like Lake Mead has been getting lower and lower for a couple years. I wonder if this is some sort of cycle. Obviously, at one point in the past, the general area was fertile and productive enough to be home to a large population (Mesa Verde), yet it obviously hasn’t been capable of that for centuries … and that arid decline seems to be getting worse. But is this a new or old pattern?

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    • I suspect it’s part of a cycle. When we were in the height of the drought here in Texas around 2011 I was really concerned it was climate change with the Senora Desert reclaiming our area. Fortunately, it was just another drought of about 8 years or so. Now Texans are begging for the rain to stop. I’m actually surprised that they haven’t gotten some of the rain we have though some of ours results from systems coming in from the west colliding with those from the Gulf of Mexico, giving us a better chance at moisture. I’m just glad the lake is nearly full and things are green again.

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      • Our lake is at the highest elevation, which is good. They are running flood operations at all the Highland Lakes dams trying to control it. It’s actually impossible for us to get flooded on this lake because the water would go over the dam before it got high enough to threaten any houses. Some folks downstream are not so fortunate, however. Inflow is huge. Lake looks like the Mississippi River right now it’s so muddy.

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      • Me, too! Many others along the same river aren’t as fortunate. Ironically there are some lakes along the chain that are what they call “constant level” in that they would take water out of Lake Buchanan to keep them full, even during the drought. Many of those people had no clue how bad it was while we watched our disappear. Now they’re at risk of flooding and we’re safe. What goes around, comes around, I guess.

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      • Exactly. I remember when a dam broke in Idaho back in the 70s. The majority of the land was farmland but the flood stripped off the topsoil which needless to say was a major problem. This dam is something like 2 miles long and built in the 30s. They maintain it and such but nonetheless I’m much happier being at the high point of the system.

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      • My Grandmama also distrusted the dykes that held the Mississippi in place – she was convinced that if/when they broke, it would create a worse problem than if they’d never been constructed.

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      • And what did they do? The rebuilt the dykes! … Haven’t they heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome?

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      • Yep, I’ve thought that for a long time … perhaps the French folks who originally settled there were familiar with The Netherlands … amazing country, but I suspect it’s not as secure as people would like to think.

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