# What do you think will happen when the water level at Lake Mead falls below 1050 feet? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 11, 2021, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-will-happen-when-the-water-level-at-lake-mead-falls-below-1050-feet/954201 "2021-11-11T18:07:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-will-happen-when-the-water-level-at-lake-mead-falls-below-1050-feet/954201/241 "2026-08-15T17:20:52Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > At best it would only delay the inevitable. But it lets you kick the can further down the road! So I was involved in the design discussion with a water reclamation project that began in a drought period. At first management was all gung-ho and very interested in pursuing it aggressively. But these projects take time, particularly in government - pre-planning, design, and permit-hunting can literally take years. Costs can bloom. A year or so into the project, on which no ground had yet been broken, it was “temporarily” shelved (temporarily often is code for abandoned in these situations). When I asked why, it was because after one good rain year we were no longer in a drought. But…but…, I said, another drought is inevitable and sooner rather than later. We’re in a state where multi-year drought cycles were normal even decades back before global warming started accelerating the issue. Yeah, but we’re not in a drought this year, so it isn’t currently a problem and we can shift the funding to this other non-critical project instead. Shortsightedness gets us all in the end. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2026, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-will-happen-when-the-water-level-at-lake-mead-falls-below-1050-feet/954201/242 "2026-08-15T23:46:28Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > At best it would only delay the inevitable. Why? Global climate change does not necessarily mean drought. It could happen, or even more rain. [https://gpm.nasa.gov/resources/faq/how-does-climate-change-affect-precipitation](https://gpm.nasa.gov/resources/faq/how-does-climate-change-affect-precipitation) > Current climate models indicate that rising temperatures will intensify the Earth’s water cycle, increasing evaporation. Increased evaporation will result in more frequent and intense storms, but will also contribute to drying over some land areas. As a result, storm-affected areas are likely to experience increases in precipitation and increased risk of flooding, while areas located far away from storm tracks are likely to experience less precipitation and increased risk of drought. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-will-happen-when-the-water-level-at-lake-mead-falls-below-1050-feet/954201/243 "2026-08-16T02:57:58Z")
This one isn’t even about climate change, our dumb asses just started using up aquifers and diverting water to make money growing cows at an unsustainable rate. We’d be fucked at this point even if Thanos could snap away the CO2. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-will-happen-when-the-water-level-at-lake-mead-falls-below-1050-feet/954201/244 "2026-08-16T10:01:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > > > At best it would only delay the inevitable. > > Why? Global climate change does not necessarily mean drought. It could happen, or even more rain. I don’t know about Lake Mead specifically, but if it’s anything like our situation here in Corpus Christi, the problem is one of excess demand rather than lack of supply. I started a thread earlier this year about how Corpus Christi was a few months away from running out of water barring a deluge of rain in the watershed. Well, we got lucky and the deluge happened. Lake Corpus Christi is sitting at 92% capacity. Despite that, the city projects were still going to run out of water around 9/2028. Why? Too many users. It’s a problem of excess demand rather than lack of supply. I’d guess this is the underlying issue in most places (at least in the developed world) where running out of water is a concern. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-will-happen-when-the-water-level-at-lake-mead-falls-below-1050-feet/954201/245 "2026-08-16T11:43:39Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > It’s a problem of excess demand rather than lack of supply. I’d guess this is the underlying issue in most places (at least in the developed world) where running out of water is a concern. It’s a lot more than just increased demand. [![](https://safety4sea.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/wmo-climate-change.png) ](https://safety4sea.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/wmo-climate-change.png) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-will-happen-when-the-water-level-at-lake-mead-falls-below-1050-feet/954201/246 "2026-08-16T14:44:14Z")
My wife and I are trying to help by xeriscaping our yard. We will probably cut down our water use by 25%. It’s not ALL ideological save the planet. We have some buy in on this as well as it will save us time and money. We are also solar powered. We don’t spend a dime on electricity (3700 sq ft house). Born too late to be ‘hippies’ but I like the fashion, and the music. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-will-happen-when-the-water-level-at-lake-mead-falls-below-1050-feet/954201/247 "2026-08-16T15:05:05Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > It’s a lot more than just increased demand. Sure, but that’s why I specified tight water supply in the developed world specifically. The problem of low fresh water supply, where it occurs in the developed world, is a lot more likely to be due to overuse by activities like oil refining, almond farming, cattle ranching, data centers doing AI, etc., rather than strictly due to lack of rain. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-will-happen-when-the-water-level-at-lake-mead-falls-below-1050-feet/954201/248 "2026-08-16T23:23:12Z")
From what I understand, it’s primarily a long term drought in the Rockies in general compounded by climate change, and human driven demand just makes it worse. Lake Mead is HUGE, and it’s only at 28% capacity. It’s been a nearly three decade drought that’s causing most of the problem- it was overflowing in 1983 and full in 1999, but it’s gone down more or less steadily since then. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2026, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-will-happen-when-the-water-level-at-lake-mead-falls-below-1050-feet/954201/249 "2026-08-17T05:27:20Z")
> **[Lake Powell hits record low, threatening key water and electricity supply for...](https://apnews.com/article/colorado-river-lake-powell-mead-record-low-6a5e0706635222ba4dd364d705a39f8e)** > > The water level at Lake Powell has fallen to a record low in another sign of crisis along the Colorado River. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2026, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-will-happen-when-the-water-level-at-lake-mead-falls-below-1050-feet/954201/250 "2026-10-26T05:05:55Z")
All this heavy rain in the SW seems to finally be getting to the reservoirs. Earlier rains, when we had flash flooding in the Grand Canyon, didn’t seem to do anything. Lake Powell is up about 6 feet in the last few days. Lake Mead is also up a bit in the last day or two. > **[Lake Powell Water Level](https://powell.uslakes.info/level/)** > > Lake Powell Water Level including historical chart > **[Lake Mead Water Level](https://mead.uslakes.info/Level/)** > > Lake Mead Water Level including historical chart [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-will-happen-when-the-water-level-at-lake-mead-falls-below-1050-feet/954201.md?page=12)