Lake Mead in the USA could soon stop supplying hydroelectric power

 Scientists say the current status of Lake Mead is a stark illustration of climate change and a megadrought that could be the worst in the U.S. West in 1,200 years. Lake Mead, on the Colorado River at the Nevada-Arizona border, is the largest reservoir in the USA. The reservoir supplies water to roughly 25 million people across seven states, tribal lands and northern Mexico. Lake Mead’s water level has dropped more than 52 meters since 1983, the year the Colorado River flooded Hoover Dam’s spillways. If the reservoir dips below 270 meters which is about 45 meters lower than where it is now – Lake Mead would be unable to flow downstream from the dam. The water levels could fall so low that Hoover Dam would have trouble producing any hydroelectric power.

Image via NASA Earth Observatory.