Lake Mead is currently at less than a third of its capacity and is heading for a crisis in the next few years.What will happen if it dries up? Let’s find out!
The lake mead, which was created by the Hoover Dam, has been consistently decreasing in size since the 1990s.
The main factors causing the decrease in size of the lake are drought, population growth, and climate change.
The lake delivers water to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, making the water crisis a concern for all three cities.
The primary users of water from Lake Mead are the states of California and Arizona. California uses about three times more water from the lake than Arizona.
The water level in the lake has been dropping due to the increasing demand for water and the decreasing supply.
If this trend continues, the lake mead could totally run out of water in the coming 10 to 15 years..
If Lake Mead runs out of water, the Hoover Dam would no longer be able to generate power or provide water to surrounding cities and farms.
The Colorado River would essentially stop flowing, and the Southwest would be in a major water crisis.
The water level in Lake Mead has been declining since the early 2000s, and it is now at its lowest level since the lake was created in the 1930s.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is working to address the problem, but if nothing changes, it could be a problem for the West as a whole.