2023 Articles

Southern Nevada

Lake Mead Southern Nevada

Southern Nevada already a global leader in water conservation—has launched some of its most aggressive and innovative conservation programming to date to help shore up Lake Mead levels, which have dropped more than 170 feet amid climate change and a decades-long megadrought.

As a result of sinking lake levels, a tier-two federally imposed shortage will reduce Southern Nevada’s Colorado River allocation to 275,000 acre-feet beginning in 2023. Although the reductions are considerable, our community has demonstrated it can conserve through shortage even while continuing to grow and thrive economically.

Already proactively using less than its annual allocation, Southern Nevada is moving forward on multiple water conservation initiatives to reach a newly established community conservation goal of 86 gallons per person per day (GPCD) and to prepare for a hotter, drier future. Read more about Nevada in the CRWUA Annual Report.