NPS Begins Plans For Lower Lake Levels

By VERNON ROBISON

Moapa Valley Progress

The last two decades have seen water levels at Lake Mead fall off relentlessly, dropping by 130 feet in elevation since the beginning of the drought in 2000. As a result, water levels at Lake Mead today are at near record low levels. But the National Park Service (NPS) is already making plans in case those records continue to be broken in the years to come.

The NPS is seeking public comment on the beginning stages of a General Management Plan Amendment that will address low-water conditions at Lake Mead. The current low-water plan was adopted in 2005. It addresses access issues to the sinking lake down to a surface elevation of 1,050 feet above sea level. That’s roughly 28 feet lower than the current level of 1078 feet.

“We are now getting close to the level that we planned for years ago,” said NPS spokesperson Christie Vanover. “So with this document we just wanted to be prepared for the possibility of levels below 1050 feet.”

The new document would re-work and broaden those plans to accommodate a drop of another 100 feet, down to an elevation of 950 feet, Vanover said.

The lake reached a low point of 1071.64 feet in June of 2016. To find anything lower than that, one would have to look all the way back to the mid 1930s when Lake Mead was first filling up behind Hoover Dam.

According to a statement released by the NPS last week, the proposed plan would provide a long-term strategy for addressing operational needs to maintain lake access. The plan would lead to decision-making regarding the feasibility of existing marinas, launch ramps, and other water-based visitor facilities at such low water levels. In addition, it would identify steps necessary for their continued operation, if possible.

Locations of marinas and launch ramps have truly been the major challenge over the extended period of drought. In the year 2000, there were no less than six marinas and nine launch ramps in service across Lake Mead. Today there are only three marinas and six launch ramps still in service.
Two low water casualties, closest to home, have been marinas and other services at the northern end of the lake at Overton Beach and at Echo Bay.

The marina at Overton Beach was closed and removed in February of 2007. In addition, the fuel station, convenience store, RV park and trailer village there all closed at the same time. The boat ramp remained open until May of 2008 when it too had to be closed. The Overton Beach area remains closed to all traffic to this day.

The Echo Bay marina was closed in February of 2013. Other land-based services remained in the area.
As water levels dropped, the NPS built a deep water launch at Echo Bay which is still in use. That launch ramp is expected to stay in service up until the water levels fall to 1050 feet.

According to Bureau of Reclamation projections levels could reach within a foot of that level by 2020.
At that point, the document proposes plans for a road accessing a new ramp to be built about a half mile east of the current ramp, towards Pumphouse Cove. That new ramp would allow boats to launch down to a water level of 1,000 feet, the document states.

“Our current topography studies have shown that is about as far as we can go in that location,” Vanover said. “If the lake should someday drop below 1,000 feet, the topography just wouldn’t be there to allow any more extensions.”

Interestingly, the preferred alternative in the planning document allows for the possibility of the return of marina facilities in the Echo Bay area, if it should prove feasible. But no specific plans are currently being made to provide those services again, Vanover said.

“We are mindful that this plan has to last for decades to come,” Vanover said. “So we wanted to have the flexibility to leave the door open for a marina at that location, if it should ever again be deemed viable; and if the water levels would sustain it.”

The NPS encourages the public to comment on the plan. Public meetings will be held on Dec. 10 at the Mohave County Library, Kingman Branch, 3269 North Burbank Street, Kingman, Arizona; and Dec. 11 at the James I. Gibson Library, 100 West Lake Mead Pkwy., Henderson, NV. Both meetings will be at 6-8 p.m.

The document is available for review online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov. Comments may be submitted electronically via the website. Written comments should be mailed to Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Compliance Office, 601 Nevada Way, Boulder City, NV 89005. Comments must be received by December 31, 2018.