Overview
- Lake Mead dropped to a new recorded low of about 1,040.5 feet on Friday, marking the lowest elevation measured since tracking began and continuing daily declines recorded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
- Combined storage in Lake Mead and Lake Powell is at historic lows while Lake Powell measured roughly 3,521.4 feet and is approaching prior record lows and levels that threaten hydropower production at Glen Canyon Dam.
- The Department of the Interior recently released shortage guidance that would allow multi-year cuts to lower-basin allocations, and federal projections show repeated record lows through 2028 unless hydrology improves.
- Major operational risks include reduced deliveries to cities and farms, a real threat that the Central Arizona Project canal could run dry if deep cuts are enforced, and state managers are preparing legal and operational responses.
- Researchers and agencies link the crisis to more than two decades of warming and lower snowmelt, with NASA estimating about 13.7 trillion gallons lost from reservoirs and aquifers since 2002, and officials are using emergency transfers, paid conservation and funding requests as stopgap measures.