I used Bing today and searched on Lake Mead Water Level Today. I used the snipping tool to record the result. What would you think? I have been seeing the same result for months. Notice the last line under Lake Powell Water Level says Friday, January 3. I was trying to get some proof that it was a current result. If you didn’t know any better, would you believe Lake Mead is at 1061.04 feet? Or would you believe the line that says, “However, the water levels this week have dropped to historic lows, with the lake measured at 1,044.03 feet, the lowest elevation since the lake was filled in the late 1930s.” When I clicked on the “3” superscript, I was taken to an article written June 22, 2022. I was served a response based on an article that was two and a half years old.
How many people are believing that Lake Mead is near dead pool status based on faulty search engine results? Is this simple malfunction or is it an example of propaganda?
On March 23, 2023, I created a Facebook page Fill Lake Mead as an effort to see if focusing attention on Lake Mead would help. The goal was to fill the lake within a year. We didn’t make it.
However, we did see improvement. Because of my interest, I began checking the level regularly. Here is a graph generated today. Notice the lake is more than 18 feet above its level in 2023 and about 5 feet below the level last year.
What has caused the improvement? Articles in SFGate, The Cool Down, and Newsweek give all the credit to agreements by users to limit their water usage.
“This year, 500,000 acre-feet were saved through Dec. 4. That figure was 700,000 in 2023. On Dec. 26, Lake Mead's water level was 18.5 feet above what it was two years prior.” That example is from The Cool Down. No mention is made of increased rain or snow. All credit is given to saving water.
If the lake level is reducing due to the effects of climate change, and if climate change is man-made, then it makes sense that people would have to change to stop the lake from going dry. What if the lake is going dry because too many people take water out of it? Reducing consumption would make even more sense. What if lake level has nothing to do with man-made climate change?
Look at the other side. “The rise in water levels is likely down to an increase in snowpack in the surrounding mountains. In the winter and early spring months of 2023, the southwestern United States saw a series of intense winter storms, which increased precipitation across the region.” Newsweek, February 16, 2024. No mention is made of water conservation, although overconsumption of water is mentioned as a reason for the lake going down.
A series of arctic blasts are happening now. Snowpack in the Colorado River Basin is over 90% of average. Perhaps it will have a good year.
The point of the article is that both sides of an issue can slant their reporting by leaving out information. It can be difficult to determine the truth, due to inadequate data. I will be following developments on the Facebook page. If you want to help, like and follow the page.