Lake Mead, nation's largest reservoir, hits record low
Federal officials say cuts of up to 3 million acre-feet a year could follow as the reservoir nears thresholds for hydropower and water delivery.
- On Thursday, Lake Mead fell to 1,040.5 feet, breaking its previous record low set in July 2022 and marking the lowest level since the reservoir's creation nine decades ago.
- Extreme heat and 25 years of persistent drought have driven the decline, with the National Weather Service issuing an Extreme Heat Warning for the region lasting until Saturday evening.
- The Colorado River provides water for 40 million people across the United States, with agriculture accounting for roughly 70 percent of water use, while heavy demands combined with climate change have pushed the system into crisis.
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum continues negotiations on a 10-year operating framework that could require Basin States to make collective cuts of up to 3 million acre-feet annually, though no deal has been reached after years of fraught discussions.
- Projected to drop further as evaporation and ongoing water demands pressure supplies, Lake Mead faces continued strain; Burgum states future management must remain flexible to respond to changing hydrologic conditions.
133 Articles
133 Articles
The U.S.’s Largest Reservoir Just Fell to Its Lowest Water Level
Boats cruise past a white "bathtub ring" of mineral-stained rocks left by higher water levels in The Narrows upstream of the Hoover Dam in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on July 25, 2026. —Ethan Miller—Getty ImagesLake Mead, the reservoir on the Arizona-Nevada border that is a crucial source of water for the American Southwest, sank to its record-lowest levels in the past week, raising concerns about deepening water supply cuts affecting…
Hoover Dam's construction submerged a US town in 1935: 90 years later, Lake Mead's falling water levels are helping it reemerge
The receding waters of Lake Mead have unveiled the eerie remnants of St. Thomas, a ghost town in Nevada. Originally a thriving Mormon settlement founded in 1865, it was swallowed by rising waters after the Hoover Dam was built in 1938. Now, the lakebed displays its foundations, allowing history enthusiasts a rare opportunity to connect with a bygone era of agricultural significance.
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🌎 EARTH SIGNALS FOR AUGUST 9, 2026 Good morning, friends. It’s been four days. Sorry! The kids are on vacation until TOMORROW, life got in the way, and apparently newsletters do not write themselves. I hope you had a great weekend—and that it isn’t as warm where you are as it is here in Switzerland....
Blue Mesa, the largest reservoir in Colorado, is a quarter full. What are officials doing about it?; The federal reservoir is a proxy for water conditions in Colorado and the immense Colorado River reservoir, Lake Powell. This year, it’s showing the strain.
Blue Mesa Reservoir, the largest in Colorado and an emergency savings bank for Lake Powell, has been on a crash course with critically low water levels this summer, the kind
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