Overton Beach ramp unusable for launching watercraft. The courtesy dock at the ramp is, for all intents and purposes, on land. It is stuck firmly in the mud. “It probably couldn’t even be used to launch a jetski right now,” said NPS spokesperson, Roxanne Dey. “In fact it’s doubtful that a person could even launch a kayak there with current conditions.”
Over the last four weeks, water levels at Lake Mead have dropped four feet in elevation, according to the U.S. Department of Reclamation. Furthermore, projections show the lake dropping an additional two feet in the month of June. Because of the mild incline of the shoreline at Overton Beach a drop of one foot in water level is equivalent to 10-20 feet of shoreline lost, said Roxanne Dey. |
“We hope to be able to re-open the ramp in the late Fall of this year,” Dey said.
Official projections show the Lake levels going up significantly towards the end of the year. The current year’s snow pack in the western Rockies showed a good year, at 120% of normal. But there is still a lot of lost ground to make up, Dey said. “One good year can’t make up for eight years of serious drought,” Dey said. “But when the water comes back we will reopen the ramp at Overton Beach.” |