{"id":33290,"date":"2022-05-22T18:48:11","date_gmt":"2022-05-22T23:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/?p=33290"},"modified":"2022-06-18T16:22:59","modified_gmt":"2022-06-18T21:22:59","slug":"the-drought-affecting-lake-mead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/2022\/05\/22\/the-drought-affecting-lake-mead\/","title":{"rendered":"The Drought Affecting Lake Mead"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lake Mead, the United States\u2019 largest reservoir, is draining rapidly. Due to an <\/span>extreme climate change-fueled drought<\/span><\/a> and an increase in demand for water, Lake Mead registered its lowest level on record since the reservoir was first filled in the 1930s. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The drought that caused Lake Mead and other important water sources like Lake Powell to drain at alarming rates have caused many other issues throughout the country. <\/span>Heat waves killed hundreds<\/span><\/a> of people, <\/span>wildfires took out towns<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>grasshoppers are causing cattle to die off<\/span><\/a> as they eat all of the foliage. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Scientists say that the West\u2019s historic, multi-year drought is a \u201cclear sign\u201d of how the climate crisis is affecting not just our weather, but also communities\u2019 food production, electricity generation, livelihoods, and, most notably, water supply. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Among this drought, there is another significant climate crisis that Lake Mead is on its way to become the focal point of: water shortages in the West. Millions of people every year are being affected and will continue to be affected in the coming years by the Colorado River shortage alone, according to <\/span>researchers<\/span><\/a>. Some are even being forced to make painful water cuts. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cEven without climate change, we would have a problem because we\u2019re taking more water out than the river could provide,\u201d John Fleck, director of the Water Resources Program at the University of New Mexico, <\/span>told CNN<\/span><\/a> in an interview. \u201cBut climate change has made the problem much worse by substantially reducing the flow in the river.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lake Mead is Around 143 Feet Below \u201cFull\u201d<\/b><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

As of last year, the water in Lake Mead reached an all time low of 1070.6 feet above sea level since it was originally filled, according to data provided by the US Bureau of Reclamation. The lake has fallen around 143 feet below its 2000 level, when it was last considered full. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This left a \u201cbathtub ring,\u201d a ring of white minerals as tall as the Statue of Liberty, all along the lake\u2019s shoreline. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

As the water level goes down in Lake Mead, a “bathtub ring” of minerals is left on the shore, visibly showing the decline. | Credit: CNN<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Experts say it may never be full again. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Currently, at the lowest level Lake Mead has ever been at, the reservoir is only at 36 percent capacity, a number that continues to fall as the decline continues to outpace projections from just months previous. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThis [rapid decline] scares me,\u201d Fleck <\/span>admitted<\/span><\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s dropping so fast that it may be overreaching our ability to cope with the problems. I did not anticipate the bottom to drop this quickly, and we\u2019re only talking about Lake Mead.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

25,000,000 People Rely on Lake Mead Water<\/b><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

The hardest hit from water cuts will be <\/span>agricultural communities<\/span><\/a>, especially those in central Arizona. Because they will have less water, farmers say they will be forced to fallow land. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Native American communities are also impacted, Fleck said. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cA number of tribal communities across the Colorado River Basin have been promised some water that they don\u2019t have yet.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

This section of dry, cracked earth was once underwater near where the marine was once located in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. | Credit: CNN, Ethan Miller<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now that a shortage has been declared, the Bureau of Reclamation has established <\/span>the following cutbacks<\/span><\/a>: <\/span><\/p>\n