Lake Mead: Colorado Snowpack Adds to Water Woes

Lake Mead and Lake Powell could be in for a tough year, with the latest estimates of Colorado's snowpack providing underwhelming reading.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Water and Climate Center, the snowpack in Upper Colorado River Basin—the primary source of flows into Mead and Powell—is presently sitting at just 83 percent of the historic median for this time of year.

This is a significant decrease since January, when numbers were closer to 95 percent, and a drop of 2 percent in the last week alone.

"Exceptionally dry conditions in much of the West in January were caused by a stationary high pressure system in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, preventing weather fronts from passing through," the National Integrated Drought Information System said in a statement.

"The worst snow drought conditions persist throughout Arizona, New Mexico, the southern Sierra Nevada, southwestern Utah, and parts of southwestern Colorado, where little precipitation has fallen in the past two months."

Forecasts for the coming month suggest that the snow drought will persist if not worsen in the southwest, with likely relatively warm temperatures and a reduced chance of precipitation.

Lake Mead, which is fed in part by Lake Powell, is the United States' largest reservoir by capacity and a vital water source for millions of people across Arizona, Nevada, California and New Mexico.

In fact, nearby Las Vegas—which lies a mere 30 miles northwest of the reservoir—gets 90 percent of its water from the lake, with the rest coming from groundwater.

Prolonged drought and increasing water demands in the region saw Lake Mead's water levels hit an all-time low back in 2022—reaching 1040.92 feet above mean sea level at the end of July that year.

Levels surged in 2023 following a historically wet winter, and stabilized somewhat in 2024, when its lowest point, in the late fall, was still well above the critical 'dead pool' level, at 1,061 feet.

With climate change driving the western U.S. toward a likely hotter and drier future, the region—and its water management—are set for an increasing challenge.

"We fortunately can get these fluctuations with seasons where we can make some pretty good recovery," climatologist David Simeral of the Western Regional Climate Center told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

"Having a good year here and there helps put a Band-Aid on things."

However, he added, "in terms of the larger reservoir situation with Lake Mead and Lake Powell, those are not issues that can be resolved within a season or two."

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