Competing priorities and outsized demands stymied a deal last summer on how to drastically reduce water use from the parched Colorado River.
Lake Mead
A federal deadline to make cuts in water use from Lake Mead, Lake Powell and the rest of the Colorado River hits next week.
While not enough to fend off the falling water levels entirely, the snow that has dropped in recent weeks across the mountains that feed the river is expected to slow the decline at Lake Mead.
The company that installed the ramp said it will let boaters launch watercraft and keep the reservoir accessible to the public.
U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen has come out against one idea to deal with shrinking water levels at Lake Mead, eliminating boat ramps rather than moving them to keep up with the decline.
A plane that made an emergency landing on Lake Mead in October was found last month at the bottom of the lake by a local consulting firm.
The Rocky Mountains snow season has had a good start, but whether it will be enough to buoy levels at Lake Mead and along the Colorado River remains to be seen.
The Las Vegas Valley Water District has given formal approval to rules that will drastically reduce the amount of water golf courses in the region will be allowed starting in 2024.
The park service has extended the deadline for comments on various proposals for how to manage and maintain launch ramps for motorized boaters at Lake Mead.
Federal officials underscored the need for urgent action to deal with ongoing drought along the Colorado River at a water users conference in Las Vegas on Friday.
A parade of boats traveled the Las Vegas Strip as boating enthusiasts protest the possible closure of boating ramps at Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
Southern Nevada Water Authority General Manager John Entsminger said California and Arizona are going to have to shoulder the brunt of the unprecedented cuts the federal government says are needed next year.
“The common cause that we have to address is climate change induced lower flows,” commission Chair Anne Castle said. “That’s what we have to work on together. It’s not an enemy that we can defeat. It’s one that we have to live with.”
Things have only gotten worse along the river since Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton asked the Western states to come up with conservation plan, and that decline shows no signs of slowing down.
The National Park Service said, in a newsletter, that removing boat launch ramps at five lake locations remains an option.
