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Officials say that one of the original water intake valves in the reservoir has been exposed by the lake’s plummeting waters.
According to the Southern Nevada Water Authority (which manages water resources for 2.2 Million people in Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, and has been in service since 1971), the valve can no longer draw water.
Extreme drought is already affecting the West this year, and summertime heat is still not here yet.
“This crisis is unprecedented. This is unprecedented,” Adel Hagekhalil said, general manager of Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. “This is unprecedented, because this has never happened before. We don’t have enough water for the six million people who live in the State Water Project-dependent areas.
Monday’s photos from Lake Mead show one of three agency intake valves, the oldest, high and dry above water level.
“When the lake reaches 1060 feet above sea level, that’s when you can start to see the top intake number one,” Bronson Mack, public outreach officer at the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said.
Lake Mead reached 1,060 feet above the sea level on April 4, and is currently at 1055 feet as per his statement.
The water authority is now operating a new low-lake pumping station, which is located at the bottom of Lake Mead. The station was constructed in 2015 and completed in 2020. It can deliver water to the lake at a lower level and was built to protect the region’s water resources in the face of worsening drought.
Mack stated that there was no impact on the operation’s ability deliver water. “Customers didn’t notice any change.” It was seamless.
The Colorado River’s water supply supplies Lake Powell and Lake Mead, which are also critical reservoirs in the West. More than 40 million people live in seven Western states and Mexico. Both reservoirs provide water for irrigation and drinking water to many communities throughout the region, including rural farms and native communities.
Scientists reported Monday that the West is suffering from its worst drought since centuries. A February study revealed that the 2000-2021 period was the driest for the region in 1,200 years.
The study found that the West’s 72% worst megadrought has been made worse by the human-caused global climate crisis.
“We’re kinda in some uncharted territory socially and economically,” Justin Mankin (assistant professor of geography at Dartmouth College) told CNN in March.
This story has been updated to include additional information.
CNN’s Rachel Ramirez contributed to the report.
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