SNWA Pats Us On The Back For Conserving Water

The SNWA (Southern Nevada Water Authority) is giving all of us a well-deserved "pat on the back" for our water conservation efforts over the past fifteen years.

According to an article written by Joe Vigil on Fox5Vegas.com, residents, communities and government officials from Nevada, California, Arizona, and New Mexico have put programs in place to conserve water throughout the Southwest United States in order to deal with severe drought conditions. As of Monday, April 3rd, the SNWA claims that the water level at Lake Mead is 80 feet  higher than it would have been without these conservation efforts.

Per Vigil's article: "had major water conservation efforts not been taking place among Colorado River water users over the years, the level might be around 966 feet. That is only 71 feet from Deadpool elevation, where water would no longer flow through Hoover Dam."

Of course, we all know Lake Mead's water level is still much lower than it was back in the 1990's. We can all see it in the color of the rocks, hills and mountains surrounding the lake. In fact, SNWA's Bronson Mack told Vigil that the Bureau of Reclamation is considering many more alternative programs which they hope will reduce the demand on Lake Mead's water supply by a large amount.

Another positive note about the water situation here in Southern Nevada is the fact that we have had so much snow and rain throughout the western portion of the United States this winter. Officials say the snowpack in the Colorado Rockies is "above average" and the projections for the runoff into the Colorado River, and then into Lake Mead, is "very positive."

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Larry Martino is the long-time Afternoon Drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC.

I've had so much fun at, and on Lake Mead over the years - as you can see in the pictures. But it's scary what is happening to our lake.

As of last weekend, the depth of Lake Mead is about 1045 feet above sea level, it has lost another 6 feet of water in just one month, and is now at 29% capacity.

The six foot drop in just one month is a lot, but there are a lot of reasons beyond over usage: The Bureau of Reclamation has held back water from Lake Powell to allow power to be generated at the Glen Canyon Dam is one reason, the severe prolonged drought and evaporation are also taking a toll.

If the level continues to fall a water shortage will be declared for 2023. This would mean a reduction in the water allocated to us here in the Vegas valley. Last year we used 242,000 acre feet of water with an allocation of 300,000 acre feet. FYI: An acre foot of water is what two average households use per year.

I know firsthand how low the lake is. How? I had to pay for a prop on a boat rental because I got too close to a rock - that was about 50 feet from the shore!

Have fun on the lake, but be careful out there!

Easy to see how low the lake level has dropped, by the rings.