LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — More than two decades of intense drought has battered Lake Mead, the largest man-made reservoir in the country, which reached historic lows in 2022.
Lake levels aren't the only thing to drop. Visitation has also declined.
People with businesses there and in neighboring Boulder City admit it's been tough but believe bad publicity has impacted their livelihoods even more.
Bruce Nelson's family has operated the Lake Mead Marina since 1957. In that time, they've learned to roll with nature's ebb and flow but lately, he says a lot of people just aren't giving the lake a chance.
"Someone always has an opinion about Lake Mead and if it's a negative opinion, my first question is have you ever been there and 99.9% of the time they'll say no I've never been there and I'm like perfect," Nelson said. "This place is amazing. Lake Mead is special."
In some years, like this one, the water level at Lake Mead rises. But for most of the last 23, it has consistently fallen. It's impacted boating, business, and more.
"You see pictures. You go in the marinas and see pictures of how it used to be in the 80s and you just look and go wow. It's incredible how the water level is up there," boater Rico Vazquez said. "You can still go swimming and have a good time. You've got to enjoy life. You know?"
Since 2000, the water level at Lake Mead has dropped about 160 feet meaning the shoreline has receded more than 1,000 feet in many areas.
According to the National Park Service, it's caused boat ramps and other facilities to be relocated far from the water and the lack of access has pushed people away.
"With low water, they hear Lake Mead's a mud pool and it's absolutely not," Nelson said.
Lake Mead welcomed about 7.6 million visitors in 2021 but in 2022, that number dropped to 5.6 million.
Marinas and businesses rely on that visitation to stay afloat.
"It's so funny because I would hear people coming in from the lake that I would be serving. I would hear them say oh my gosh. This place is a gold mine," Jill Bunch, the owner of Chilly Jilly'z. "I would just laugh to myself thinking if they only knew how much it costs to run and to operate."
This boating season, Lake Mead has functioning launch ramps at Hemenway Harbor and thanks to Lake Mead Mojave Adventures, at Callville Bay and Temple Bar.
The company recently introduced Mobi-mat adaptive launch ramps designed to help heavy cars get across beaches and not sink into the sand.
And in March, Nevada senators Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto alongside senator Mark Kelly requested the National Park Service distribute emergency funding set aside for natural disasters to the area hoping it would help businesses survive.
While work is in motion to preserve the lake, those who call it home are hoping people learn to appreciate it in its changing form.
"Lake Mead is a great place," Nelson said. "I always challenge people to come out and just see with their own two eyes."
The park service is currently evaluating boat ramp options at Lake Mead. A lot of it will depend on the amount of funding that's available but the agency said they hope to have a drafted plan by the end of spring.
