LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A wet winter has lead to heavy rain and snow throughout the southwest and you might wonder if it's doing anything to alleviate the current drought crisis. The answer is yes and no.
On Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said those weather conditions wiped out exceptional and extreme drought conditions in California for the first time since 2020.
Here in Nevada, state climatologist Steph McAfee said less than 10% of the state is now in extreme drought conditions. The only counties in that classification are Lincoln, Nye, and Clark Counties. In a report published on Tuesday, McAfee also writes that the Sierra Nevada and Great Basin and one and a half to nearly three times as much snow compared to an average February. She adds some parts of Nevada are also seeing their wettest October-February period since the 1890s.
However, it could be more than a year before it has an effect on Lake Mead. That's because water release and retention operations for Lake Mead and Lake Powell are already set for the year.
"It's definitely moving in the right direction but we're far from filling the reservoirs in the Colorado River system," Paul Miller, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service's Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, said. "We're far from being at a comfortable point from a water supply perspective."
The Bureau of Reclamation tracks water levels at Lake Mead. When looking at past data, the levels have been steadily going down every year since 2018. Between February 2022 and February 2023, it was a difference of almost 20 feet.
The lowering water levels are affecting how many people are visiting the recreational area. According to National Park service visitor data, in 2021, 7,603,474 people visited Lake Mead compared to just 5,578,226 in 2022. That's down by nearly 25%.
RELATED LINK: BOATERS AND BUSINESSES ADAPT TO FALLING WATER LEVELS AT LAKE MEAD
Meantime, states are considering ways to reduce the amount of water they take from the Colorado River even if they can't agree on a plan moving forward. Six states, including Nevada, are on board with one plan while California is proposing another. California officials said the other states should make the most water cuts since California needs more water due to the agriculture industry. California currently uses the most water from the Colorado River and takes an estimated 4.4 million acre feet every year.
Valley officials are looking at a variety of ways to continue cutting back on water including limiting water at Henderson golf courses, not automatically providing water at restaurants, and limiting residents who use too much water.
The Southern Nevada Water Authority is also accepting a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to fund cloud seeding in other Western states whose rivers feed into the valley. That's according to a new report from the Associated Press. Using planes and ground-based cannons, silver iodide crystals are shot into the clouds to attract moisture creating additional snow and rain.
RELATED LINK: HOW DOES CLOUD SEEDING WORK?
The Southern Nevada Water Authority said the funding will go towards upgrading manual generators to ones that can be remotely operated and will focus on key parts of the Upper Colorado River Basin.
