Lake Mead losing 5 more feet of water, but no new restrictions coming

Southern Nevada residents will not see new water restrictions next year despite a government forecast Friday that Lake Mead will be about 5 feet lower at the end of 2020 than it was at the beginning of the year.

That’s because the region has already conserved enough water to cover reductions agreed to under a 2019 Colorado River drought contingency plan, Southern Nevada Water Authority spokesman Bronson Mack said.

“We already did that heavy lift,” he said.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced earlier in the day that Lake Mead’s water level on Jan. 1 is projected to be just over 1,085 feet. That puts the water about 10 feet above the level that would trigger federally mandated cuts for Arizona and Nevada.

“After a promising start to the snow season last winter, spring and summer turned very dry,” Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman said in a statement announcing the forecast. “Thankfully, our reservoirs continue to do what they were built to do and are providing reliable water by holding it over from wetter years.”

While the federal cutbacks won’t come into play next year, the projected water level still falls below 1,090 feet, which triggers cuts from both states under the drought contingency plan that Nevada committed to last year.

Falling below that threshold means Nevada will be required to leave 8,000 acre-feet in Lake Mead. One acre-foot of water is about what two Las Vegas Valley homes use over the course of 16 months, Mack said.

Southern Nevada is allowed to consume 300,000 acre-feet of water from the Colorado River every year, according to the water authority’s Mack. Last year, however, the region consumed just 234,000 acre-feet, leaving what essentially amounts to a water savings account of 66,000 acre-feet.

That unused water can be used to cover Nevada’s 8,000-acre-foot contribution to the drought contingency plan next year.

Still, Mack said there is more conservation work to do.

The Colorado River supplies water to 40 million people in seven states and Mexico. It has been plagued by a drought dating to 2000.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.