Lake Mead National Recreation Area is having a very bad start to spring. The water level is dwindling in Lake Mead, America’s largest reservoir and a major supplier of drinking water to California, and soaring temperatures are driving toxic algae outbreaks in the water and prompting federal officials to close hiking trails. … As unseasonably warm winter weather scorched much of the American West over the past several weeks, Lake Mead has lost crucial opportunities for replenishment. … Meanwhile, hydroelectric power output continues to decline at Hoover Dam as Lake Mead shrinks. 

Other Lake Mead news:

• KLAS (Las Vegas): New superintendent takes charge at Lake Mead; Government Wash progressing
• Reno Gazette Journal (Nev.): Lake Mead faces low water storage, harmful algal bloom and high heat