By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
The remains of the old marina structure sit abandoned on the dry, cracked mud flat at Lake Mead’s Echo Bay. These dilapidated old structures, along with a boarded up motel and restaurant building that are now more than a mile away, are just about all that are left of a once bustling marina operation.
The marina was closed down early in 2013 for lack of a willing concessioner to operate the facility. Most of what was useable in the aging facility was relocated to other spots on the Lake. What is left, just the old dry bones of the marina, were simply left behind in what water was still in the bay.
But since then the waters of Lake Mead have continued to retreat, leaving the old marina slips high and dry. The lake’s water elevation has dropped more than 41 feet since the marina’s closure in February of 2013. It is currently at an all-time record low of 1,081 feet. The Lake hasn’t seen that level since it was first filling up behind the newly constructed Hoover Dam in the spring of 1937.
Now, every day the water levels at Lake Mead continue to drop, setting a new record low. The lake is expected to continue to drop through November of this year when it is projected to reach a level of 1,079 feet, according to the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) reports. At that point in the annual cycle, the water levels will begin to rise again for a brief period.
But, barring a banner year of snowpack on the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains where most of Lake Mead’s water is generated, this rising water season will be short lived. The BOR projections expect water levels for the season to top off in February 2015 at only 1,084. Then the lake will start another precipitous seasonal decline.
But despite all of this, right around the corner from the abandoned marina there is still a lot of water left in Lake Mead. Just a short distance down a new gravel road, at the end of a narrow peninsula which was once the northern protection for the Echo Bay harbor, there is a ramp where boats, large and small, continue to launch into the still plentiful waters of the Lake. Officials point out that, even at the record low levels, Lake Mead is still one of the top five largest man-made lakes in the United States.
“There has been a lot of media attention on the dropping water levels at Lake Mead,” said Lake Mead National Recreation Area spokesperson Christie Vanover. “And, of course, it is a bit of a shock to see pictures of the changes that have happened to the shoreline. Where once there was water, it’s now just dried out. And it’s easy to focus on just that.”
Vanover said that these images might lead people to think that the all of the recreation potential on the Lake has dried up too. But that is far from the case, she said.
“Just to put it in perspective, tons of people still go down to Lake Havasu or Lake Mojave every weekend,” Vanover said. “But even now, Lake Mead is much larger than both of those lakes by a long shot. It’s deceiving when you first see the crest of the lake and see how far things have receded back. But once you’ve launched your boat on the water it is still a fantastic lake.”
For the National Park Service, the problem is not whether there is enough water in the lake for boating, skiing, fishing, swimming and having a great time with family and friends. There is still plenty of water for all of that. The big challenge is maintaining access down to all that water for boaters. The problem is not with boating, but with launching the boats in lower waters.
“Our primary goal is to keep access available at all locations where the water still reaches,” Vanover said. “So we plan to continue to extend launch ramps so that we can provide access to the public.”
Between 2002 and 2012, the Park Service spent $36 million to extend boat ramps, grade beaches, extend roads and other projects. All this was to ensure that visitors could access the new low water levels. About $3 million of that funding went into the new low water boat ramp at Echo Bay, and the gravel road leading out to it. This project was completed in early 2011 and the new ramp has come in handy as the low water continues to break records this year.
“Our maintenance crews have told us that Echo Bay is actually one of the best areas for launching boats right now on the lake,” Vanover said. “That’s because it has an ideal grade for launching. And it has concrete planks that are pretty sturdy.”
By contrast, as the lake water has fallen, other launch ramps on the lake have had to employ a surface known as pipemat; a temporary arrangement made of steel pipe material that can be laid down to extend the ramp further out into the water than the permanent ramp can reach.
The boat launch at Hemenway Harbor is a good example of this. NPS crews had to close down Hemenway to one lane for a period of time right after the July 4 weekend because the pipematting had buckled and it needed adjustments.
“You don’t see those problems at this point at Echo Bay,” Vanover said. “So we have been getting a lot of compliments about that location.”
But as the lake levels are projected to continue dropping dramatically over the next two years, NPS officials are already making plans to extend launch ramps further. The ramp at Hemenway is only useful to the level to 1,082, which is why there are already problems there. Temple Bar and South Cove will be next at 1,080. The deep water launch at Callville Bay only reaches out to 1,079. Finally, the ramp at Echo Bay will eventually reach its limit at 1,078. That water level is expected to be reached as soon as next April, according to current BOR projections.
In each of these cases, Park Service engineers are already working on plans for building permanent concrete extensions to reach out into the retreating water.
“We have extensions planned in all of these locations,” Vanover said. “But we need the water to drop a bit more before we can do the construction. It’s kind of a catch-22. On the one hand we don’t want to see the water drop. On the other hand, it’s needed in order to put those permanent extensions in.”
Through all of this, local boaters say there is as much potential for recreation on Lake Mead as there has ever been; despite the lower water levels.
Overton resident Jeff Phillips, who goes out on the lake regularly with friends, said that one of the great draws of Lake Mead has always been its ever changing nature.
“For me that’s really a big part of the charm of Lake Mead,” Phillips said. “It doesn’t stay the same all the time but it always changes just a little bit. Yes, that means that water hazards have moved and you have to be on the watch. But that is just par for the course.”
Phillips feels that there is too much negative emphasis placed on the falling lake levels and not enough focus on the recreation that is still available there.
“The news like to jump into the negative stuff and I guess that is what sells,” Phillips said. “But the fact is that it is still a huge lake out there, with plenty to do.”
Logandale resident Jessica Whipple said that her family spends a good deal of the summer out on the lake. With a V-Drive boat, she says that the low water launch at Echo Bay is even better than the old docks were.
“Other than that, it’s no different than it ever was,” Whipple said.
“We still go out and have a great time. Yes the water is lower, but that has also made it possible for us to scout out and find some great new coves that weren’t there before.”
Overton businessman and boater Mike Cook agreed that boating, skiing and playing on Lake Mead is just as good as it ever was. He has been going out on the lake for years.
One difference he sees, though, is that when the water levels drop fast as they have done in recent weeks, it becomes more difficult to find a good beach.
“Everything is mud and the shoreline stinks,” Cook said. “Most of the good beaches, as they used to be, are way up the hill; a mile away from the water.”
Cook also bemoans the loss of all services on the northern end of the Lake. “It seems like when they started charging us all these fees to go to the lake, that’s when the services started to disappear. They took the restrooms away from Stewarts Point and there is very little left at Echo Bay. We need some of those services restored.”
But everyone agreed that one big plus of visiting the Overton Arm is that there is almost no traffic on the lake these days.
“Since they took all the services out of the northern end of the Lake, it has kind of become our own personal lake for the locals,” Cook said. “As a business owner in Overton that is not good. But as a boater I’m not complaining at all. At this point, the Overton Arm is the best little secret on the Lake.”
Cook said that he went out on the lake during the July 4th holiday weekend and only saw 3 other boats out there.
“The number of visitors are way down,” he said. “There is hardly anyone out there; which is actually nice in some ways. You have the lake pretty much to yourself. And it’s still a big lake.”
Vanover agrees that Lake Mead, even with its low water level, has a great deal to offer. And she insists that, despite the reduction in services in recent years, Echo Bay remains a premier destination on Lake Mead.
“The main thing is that people just need to forget the news about low water levels and just come on out to the lake,” Vanover said. “It is still a fantastic water recreation area in the middle of the desert. It is unique that way and you can’t find anything else like it. In any case, there is still plenty of water for recreation at Lake Mead.”
