Las Vegas NowI-Team: Federal Drought Plan Expected as Lake Mead Levels Drop

I-Team: Federal Drought Plan Expected as Lake Mead Levels Drop

It is the most aggressive effort yet to manage water from the Colorado River in the event the drought gripping our area worsens. By early next year, Federal officials are expected to have in place a series of specific steps to take if Lake Mead water levels continue to drop.

This is a plan that goes well beyond just talk. And Nevada could actually lose about 7-percent of the water it is allowed to draw from Lake Mead under the worst of drought circumstances.

To see this drought plan, click here.

A recent flyover of Lake Mead by Skywitness 8 tells the story. You can see the white "bathtub ring" that marks the lake's former high water mark.

The tower in the middle is one of the intakes for all of the water supplied to the Las Vegas Valley. Nevada and the six other states that use Colorado River water are asking the federal government to approve what's called a water supply management plan.

It includes an agreement for Arizona to "bank" or store water for Nevada -- but also could mean Nevada will have to cut its use of traditional Colorado River supplies.

"It is not a pleasant thought, let's put it that way. However, we have an agreement with the state of Arizona where they're banking 1.2 million acre-feet for our use. As part of that agreement, as long as the Arizona cities aren't shorted, we can take our 'drought water' -- or the water that we have been cut back on -- we can take it from the bank," said Pat Mulroy of the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

Within the next several weeks, the Federal Bureau of Reclamation -- which manages the Colorado River -- is expected to release the final environmental impact report on this plan.

It is then expected to be approved and put into place by the Interior Secretary early next year.

The first stage of this federal drought plan would kick in when Lake Mead drops to a surface elevation of 1,075 feet. As of Tuesday morning, the lake level is just 36 feet above that point.

Experts say at the current rate, we could hit the first drought stage by 2009 -- with the most drastic steps possibly needed as early as 2012.

To see this drought plan, click here.