Opinion: Lake Mead can’t wait to save water. Will Arizona’s $40 million help?
The projections for Lake Mead – the reservoir that provides nearly 40% of Arizona’s water supply – have been revised down again. According to the federal October 24-month study, the lake could be in a Tier 3 shortage – the worst for which we have a plan to handle – a few months earlier and a few feet deeper than was projected just last month. The minimal probable forecast (which isn’t the worst-case scenario; a few modeled outcomes are worse) now predicts that Lake Mead could hit a low of 1,023 feet in September 2023.
-Written by Joanna Allhands, Arizona Republic columnist.