LAKE MEAD (KTNV) — The National Park Service is looking to the future and getting ready to start work on multiple projects throughout the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
Their Sustainable Low Water Access Plan includes at least eight projects, mainly focusing on relocating, extending, or improving boat launch ramps across the park.
"We concluded that the Park Service will continue to do everything they can to maintain lake access to the degree financially feasible and cost-effective," said Justin Pattison, Deputy Superintendent.
Here is what the park has planned so far. According to Pattison, all of the projects are expected to take about two years to complete.
- Hemenway Harbor - $15.7 million has been set aside to extend the launch ramp and maintain marina operations. That work is expected to start sometime next month.
- Echo Bay - $5.1 million will be used to relocate the launch ramp with work scheduled to start in June 2025.
- Callville Bay - $17.7 million will be used to relocate the launch ramp and maintain marina operations. That work will start in June 2026.
- Callville Bay - $3 million has been set aside to relocate the water intake barge. Work is scheduled to start in June 2025.
- Temple Bar - $2.5 million has been set aside to maintain a primitive launch ramp and marina operations. There is no award date for that work.
- South Cove - $2 million has been set aside to improve a primitive launch ramp and associated facilities with work scheduled to start in June 2025
- Across entire recreation area - $1 million has been set aside for water quality monitoring, which began in January.
- Across entire recreation area - $2 million will be used to help clean up shoreline debris. Work is scheduled to begin in June 2025.
Looking at how these projects are being funded, NPS officials say $17 million, which will be specifically used for Callville Bay, came from the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act. Another $32 million came from Disaster Supplemental Funding.
Pattison says the final launch ramp elevations will be dependent on future lake levels and what the lake does over the next couple of years will determine how far beneath the water they can install launch ramps.
Last month, the Bureau of Reclamation released its Colorado River Basin August 2024 24-Month Study, which you can read below.
Bureau of Reclamation 24-Month Study by jarah.wright on Scribd
The study projects that over the next two years, Lake Mead's projected lake level will be between 1,050 and 1,075 feet. Based on those numbers, Lake Mead will operate in a Level 1 Shortage Condition with required shortages by Arizona and Nevada in 2025.
Required shortage reductions and water savings contributions include:
- Arizona: 512,000 acre-feet of water, which is approximately 18% of the state’s annual apportionment.
- Nevada: 21,000 acre-feet of water, which is 7% of the state’s annual apportionment.
- Mexico: 80,000 acre-feet of water, which is approximately 5% of the country’s annual allotment.
For context, in Southern Nevada, the amount of water that we can use will drop from 300,000 acre-feet to 279,000 acre-feet. We rarely use all of the water that we are allocated. Last year, we only used 188,000 acre-feet.
While the Colorado River System is facing low reservoir storage, with Lake Powell and Lake Mead sitting at a combined 37% of capacity, federal authorities say investments in infrastructure improvements and system conservation over the last couple of years have helped stabilize the overall system.
