LAS VEGAS (AP) — U.S. water managers say there will be no water cutbacks in 2018 for millions of residents and farmers served by the Lake Mead reservoir on the Colorado River because of heavy snowfall last winter.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said Tuesday its latest projection shows the lake level in January will be 8 feet (2.5 meters) above the point that would trigger a drought shortage declaration.
Bureau spokeswoman Rose Davis says there is no chance of a 2018 shortage declaration.
The chance of a 2019 shortage is 31 percent.
A shortage would require cutbacks to some Arizona and Nevada users.
Last winter's snows helped ease effects of a yearslong drought on the lake behind Hoover Dam.
It is currently at 38 percent of capacity as farmers withdraw summer irrigation water.