Forecasters say Lake Mead has 50-50 chance of rising: Lake Powell soon might contain enough water to release surplus

From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

“For the moment, the future of Lake Mead is a coin toss. By this time next year, the surface of the reservoir could rise by about 15 feet or drop to a level not seen since 1937, when the lake was being filled for the first time.

The difference will be decided upstream, where Lake Powell soon might contain enough water to allow for surplus deliveries to Lake Mead next year.

Federal forecasters now rate the chances of that happening at 50-50.

But if Powell fails to reach that all-important “equalization elevation” — if the coin should fall the other way — Lake Mead will get no extra water and its decline will continue.

The surface of the Las Vegas Valley’s primary water source has fallen 120 feet over the past decade, as record drought reduced snowfall in the Rocky Mountains and flows in the Colorado River.

In January 2000, Lake Mead was at 96 percent of capacity. It now stands at 42 percent.

The latest two-year projection by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation assumes that Lake Powell will top its equalization elevation and release about 2.4 million acre-feet more water downstream than usual. That’s enough water to supply the entire Las Vegas Valley for eight years, and bureau officials expect it to raise the level of Lake Mead by about 16 feet by December 2010.

Southern Nevada Water Authority officials would love to see that happen, but they aren’t betting on it. … “

Read more from the Las Vegas Review Journal by clicking here.

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