Title: Thirsty: Population Growth and Water Level of Lake Mead

Author: Krystal Lowell

Abstract:

Las Vegas is a vital part of the Nevada’s economy, but the city’s placement in the Mojave Desert and the booming population both pose a problem for the nearby water reservoir of Lake Mead. Formed by Hoover Dam’s construction in the 1930s, Lake Mead’s water levels have dropped noticeably in the last decade. Fed primarily by the Colorado River and thus subject to the river’s periodic droughts, the levels of the lake have historically dropped and risen erratically since its formation, but the current drought had been exacerbated by constant drain on the water by all the constituents of the Colorado River Compact of the 1920s, and is currently being tapped at its full potential – at a rate that may have been overestimated by hydrologists at the time of the Compact’s ratification, leading to the possible over-use of Lake Mead’s available water supply.

Key References:

Census Data http://www.census.gov/popest/national/files/NST_EST2009_ALLDATA.csv

LAKE MEAD AT HOOVER DAM, ELEVATION (FEET). (2010). Retrieved March 27, 2010, from http://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/hourly/mead-elv.html

National Park Service. (May 15, 2009). Low Water. Retrieved from: http://www.nps.gov/lake/naturescience/lowwater.htm

Southern Nevada Water Authority. (2010). Water Resources. Retrieved from: http://www.snwa.com/html/wr_index.html

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. (2008). Hoover Dam FAQs. Retrieved from: http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/faqs/lakefaqs.html

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Date: May 2010
Student: klowell@willamette.edu
ENVR 327: Water Resources
Instructor: Dr. Karen Arabas
http://www.willamette.edu/~karabas/courses/envr327w