What is the Colorado River system, and why is it so important?īoth Hoover Dam and Lake Mead are integral components of the complex system that divides and allocates the Colorado River. Bureau of Reclamation, told CBS News that Hoover Dam's maximum capacity for power generation was 1,320 megawatts last week, which is 36% less power than the dam can usually produce. Michelle Helms, a spokesperson for the U.S. When reservoir levels are low the dam's ability to generate power falls too.
The elevation level also determines how much hydroelectric power is generated by Hoover Dam. Water in Lake Mead has to remain above a certain elevation to pass through Hoover Dam, a process that facilitates the distribution of water as well as generates hydroelectric power to water and irrigation districts as well as municipalities across Arizona, California, Nevada and Mexico. It comes as federal demands loom for more significant cuts to stave off a catastrophic deficit. This was the second round of water cuts imposed since a shortage was declared last year in the river's lower basin, where resources have historically been stretched quite thin. Missing persons cases reopened after human remains resurfaced in the receding reservoir on five separate occasions - a sunken World War II-era boat and schools of lifeless fish turned up as well - and fears that Lake Mead could soon sink to "dead pool status" prompted unprecedented cuts to multiple states' water supplies. This composition shows the difference in water levels at Lake Mead from Jto July 3, 2022. Photos revealed cracked earth and barren canyons while satellite images showed the reservoir's shrinking shorelines from space. The reservoir, the country's largest by volume, sank to record-low elevation levels this summer. But mounting concerns about the mega-drought seemed to reach a peak in recent months, when its repercussions became startlingly clear at Lake Mead.
Unmanageable wildfires have burned millions of acres of land as crops withered and air quality declined. Research suggests conditions are drier now than they have been for at least 1,200 years, and, compounded by the effects of climate change, will likely persist for another decade.Ĭommunities across the region are contending with the consequences of less water. The American West is facing its most severe drought in human history. Drought reveals long-lost remains at Lake Mead 02:56
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