Artist Statement:

When Hoover Dam was built in the mid-1930’s, Lake Mead was created to pull water from the Colorado River into the nation’s largest man-made lake. For nearly 100 years, the resulting reservoir has provided water for communities in four states and parts of Mexico. It reached its peak capacity in 1983 and was considered full for the last time in 2000. Since that time, increased demand and a severe two-decade drought have combined to bring the lake to its lowest level ever – about 35 percent capacity.

Climate change is further exacerbating the problem. The lake loses approximately six feet of water to evaporation every year, and rising temperatures will increase that in the future. Melting snow has traditionally resupplied the lake, but runoff levels have dropped over the past few years, partly because much of that water is soaked up by parched earth before it can reach the river.

Lake Mead is part of the Colorado River basin, which also includes Lake Powell. Together, they supply water to more than 25,000,000 people in several southwestern states and parts of Mexico. Additionally, the lake provides irrigation for four-five million acres in agricultural communities where much of the nation’s produce is grown. Hoover Dam produces enough hydropower for 8 million residents and supplies power for several states, including California, Arizona and Nevada.

The future looks bleak. Experts expect the lake to drop another 20 feet in 2022. Plans are already in place to reduce downstream water allocations, which will affect all aspects of life in the service area. With less water flowing through the dam, electrical generation has already been reduced by 25 percent. If the lake loses another 175 feet, the lake will reach a “dead pool” when water will no longer flow through the dam, cutting off energy for everyone downstream.

Sources: ABC news, CNN, NASA Earth Observatory, US Bureau of Reclamation

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