Water levels in largest reservoir in U.S. falls to historic lows amidst drought
The Hindu
Lake Mead, formed in the 1930s, is crucial to the water supply of 25 million people.
The reservoir created by Hoover Dam, an engineering marvel that symbolised the American ascendance of the 20th Century, has sunk to its lowest level ever, across the U.S. West. Lake Mead, formed in the 1930s from the damming of the Colorado River at the Nevada-Arizona border about 50 km east of Las Vegas, is the largest reservoir in the United States. It is crucial to the water supply of 25 million people including in the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Tucson and Las Vegas. As of 11 p.m. PDT on Wednesday (0600 GMT Thursday), the lake surface fell to 1,071.56 feet above sea level, dipping below the previous record low set on July 1, 2016. It has fallen 42.7 meters since 2000 — nearly the height of the Statue of Liberty from torch to base — exposing a bathtub ring of bleached-white embankments.More Related News