Lake Mead FILLING UP Again? Water Level UPDATE 2024 Lake Powell Colorado River California Flooding!

hi and welcome to a rainy and cheerful Lake me water level update normally the phrase would be rainy and gloomy but the increased moisture and Atmospheric rivers in the southwest have been a blessing lately though the systems once again cause Destruction for some in the west the hopes of water this year have been met with overwhelming gratitude from the majority of river Watchers as we head into spring let's take a look at what a Soaker it's been and the effects it's had on our reservoirs after a dry and somewhat lackluster January February came in like a lion bringing several atmospheric Rivers off the Pacific from Hawaii with enough energy to push through California Nevada Arizona Utah and Beyond wave after wave they came across Las Vegas and Lake me continually dowsing the area for almost the entire week leading up to Super Bowl Sunday on an unrelated note here's a photo I captured of the Air Force flyover before the big game I'm not much of a football fan but I do enjoy train spotting all the military aircraft around the event here's another of two Super Stallions on a little tour past the north strip just east of town down at Lake me the scene was much of the same that week what most would consider to be a wet and gloomy day I found quite calming and peaceful just enjoying the Solitude with the Ducks and the patter of the rain on the water now I know a lot of folks are always wondering what effects this has on the lake surely all this rain helps right and yes you are right it does help and it is filling but how much let's take a look Lake meat is currently sitting at 1,76 FT above sea level and still Rising increasing 6 ft in elevation since last report and recovering nearly 30 ft since this time last year the capacity has increased from 35 to 37% full on me's graph you can see that since the start of 2024 it has continued to rise in elevation creating a near Picture Perfect recovery that we could only really hope for so far but as we covered already earlier in the year this is once again going to be mainly due to the usbr releasing water from Lake Powell Upstream at significant rates as we also covered this can only go on for so long more on that in a minute now all the local rain and storms that pushed into Southern Nevada have certainly done their small part you know the phrase every drop counts right well these storms continued throughout the end of the month even bringing a rare occurrence of fog to the Las Vegas Strip and a mning of 100% humidity in the desert after a relatively dry and warm start to the New Year the snow water equivalent in the mountains around Las Vegas at the start of February was at only 43% of average as of this report however that number is now at 105% of average in the upper Basin including the the Rocky Mountains where snow pack really counts for the health of the Colorado that number went from 82% to 95% of average in the same time frame likewise in the lower Basin including Arizona California and Nevada the snow water equivalent went from a lackluster 63% at the start of February to an astounding 119% of average now February was certainly good to the Southwest this year and with more systems sitting off the coast of California we wait and see what kind of bonus might be added before the spring melt and heat commences until then all the local storm activity is much welcome and we will certainly continue to enjoy these rainy days in the desert but according to the Las Vegas Valley Water District the Las Vegas wash where all the urban runoff and a lot of storm Waters channeled back into the lake only contributes to about 2% of Lake meat's total annual content so keep in mind that an overwhelming majority of Lake meat's content and health is dictated by events Upstream mainly snow packing the Rockies down through Utah and how the usbr manages Lake Powell above it and speaking of Lake pow Upstream the reservoir today sits at 3562 ft above sea level dropping another 4 ft since last report and falling to 34% capacity the water level has continued to slowly decline since July of last year as Powell has continued to Supply Lake meat you start to understand why Lake meat Downstream has been allowed such a nice recovery earlier in the year we can see from the steady decline at Powell the usbr has been passing a lot of water right onto Lake me this year prioritizing that Reservoir and getting required releases out of the way for now as mentioned earlier though this can only go on for so long in order to maintain safe operational levels in both reservoirs pow will need to be replenished from Water Supplies originating from Flaming Gorge and snow pack Upstream with the usbr seemingly aband abandoning the idea of decommissioning the Glen Canyon Dam last year they now rely on more good water years and demand reduction programs like the ones we discussed in the first Colorado River Watch which involved paying Farmers not to farm with taxpayer funded spending bills do you think the Glen Canyon Dam should have been decommissioned or bypassed making Lake me the sole primary reservoir of the Colorado do you think that Mega dams like Hoover and Glen Canyon should have been replaced with several smaller Regional dams much like beavers create and a habitat how can we best prepare for the worst water years in drought while also being ready for the heaviest historic flood years like we saw in 1983 it will be interesting to hear your opinions on all this as we near the 100-year culmination of the original River compact that establish most of these decisions and speaking of demand reduction programs in agriculture a type of this program that has been around the residential sector for quite a while already is paying residents to rip up water thirsty natural grass here in Las Vegas the incentive for that was even increased this year as you can see in this flyer from the Southern Nevada water district there is now an offer of $5 per square foot of natural grass that a resident removes and replaces with drip irrigation and Zer escaping that's up from $3 per square foot last year but it is also set to drop to $2 next year in 2025 Las Vegas was a Pioneer in this program over a decade ago in attempts to reduce water demand from its growing communities and many cities in the Colorado River Basin are beginning to Pilot similar programs now whether you agree with the payouts or so-called demand reduction programs either at the residential or commercial level is a different story maybe you think it's necessary to get the ornamental vegetation like grass removed or perhaps you think we shouldn't be paying large Alfalfa and almond Farms not to farm in the desert where they shouldn't be anyways let us know what you think in the comments below and hey I get it sometimes all the drought and flood and conservation stuff gets a bit heavy sometimes you just need a little break from it all Get Back To Nature you know touch some sand or hug a cactus maybe well if that sounds like you check out one of our full Adventure episodes here on the channel and if you want to go really far out you can watch our adventure b-roll odd clips and stuff that just doesn't belong here on our second Channel Mojo Adventures more only for you true desert Wanderers you can find a link down in the description we know you have a lot of places to get your news and entertainment these days and we want to thank you for spending some of that time here special recognition goes out to our super thanks viewer from last update Bobby cv64 and from our Colorado River Watch Peter Smith 109 thank you both for supporting small creators like us the super thanks are always unexpected but much appreciated and we are going to try and continue bringing you folks lake and river content in the future as long as you continue to enjoy it if you're like Peter and Bobby and you found the video interesting interesting or learn something of value here today consider giving us a like or subscribing to the channel for more don't forget we are starting the new Mojo earthwork Shop on Etsy also if you want to support our work directly and help keep YouTube's hand out of our day packs I know there's not too much up right now but we do have the basic adventure te's and we are working on getting more designs up this year so stay tuned we even have an emerging silver smith over here so there might be some interesting and very unique handmade items in the future from our own rock hounding finds until then stay hydrated stay happy out there and we'll see you next [Music] time

Channel: MOJO ADVENTURES

Views: 464,825

Keywords: lake, mead, drought, hoover, dam, powell, youtube, docuseries, southwest, lasvegas, phoenix, la, drinkingwater, flood, climatechange, climateaction, nevada, california, bay area, san diego, tijuana, los angeles, state water project, colorado, aqueduct

Id: HF7sCEblA68

Length: 8min 57sec (537 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 29 2024