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Lake Mead water level expected to continue to drop

The lake is currently at its lowest ever
Hoover Dam from Lake Mead_1.JPG
Posted at 11:26 PM, Oct 17, 2021
and last updated 2021-10-18 12:27:04-04

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Lake Mead is at its lowest level ever. The water level at Lake Mead has dropped more than 150 feet in about the last 20 years. By January, it’s expected to drop even more.

The drought crisis concern is now top of mind for Vice President Kamala Harris.

RELATED: Vice President Kamala Harris to visit Lake Mead Monday, address climate change

Harris will visit Lake Mead on Monday and is scheduled to talk about climate change and investing in climate resilience. Harris is scheduled to participate in a tour, receive a briefing, and deliver remarks making the case for the largest investment in climate resilience in U.S. history through passing the Build Back Better Agenda and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal.

Lake Mead is fed by the Colorado river. Forty million people rely on the river for water, but the demand is currently more than the river can supply.

Southern Nevada gets 90 percent of its water from the Colorado river.

Many were hopeful that the winter would bring with it a lot of snow, which would eventually melt, and help raise water levels on Lake Mead, but Chris Outler with the National Weather Service in Las Vegas says it’s going to be another dry winter.

“Right now the odds are a little bit stacked against us. That could potentially lead to more water restrictions. we’ve already started to see some of that take place this year,” Outler said.