LAS VEGAS (AP) — A wet May across the West boosted monthly projections of water levels at Lake Mead through next year and into 2017, federal water managers said Monday, offering hope that supply cuts can be avoided in the Southwest.
A 24-month look ahead by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said the surface level of the largest Colorado River reservoir should remain above a benchmark level used to determine if full deliveries will be made in a seven-state region home to about 40 million residents, farms, tribes and businesses.
Last month, the bureau reported that the lake behind Hoover Dam could reach a low point in January 2017 that would force reductions for Arizona and Nevada.
"Today's numbers say we're projected to not be in shortage in 2016," said Dan Bunk, bureau water operations manager in Boulder City. "There's still a ways to go for 2017, but it's looking better."
The bureau is expected to make all its agreed-upon Colorado River water deliveries in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming at least through December 2016, Bunk said.
The surface level of Lake Mead is closely watched, and closely controlled. It can fluctuate during the year, and has reached record lows several times during an ongoing drought that has lasted some 15 years.