Southern Elk
Well-known member
We visited the Hoover Dam last week. You really get a sense of how low the lake is seeing it in person. Notice how tiny the people look in the picture of the backside of the dam, then compare that to the water level. 
Drought for the west
- Thread starter rick19Kilo
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lynlan1819
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- May 27, 2019
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About 30 ft more foot drop,and the intakes will be completly out of the water, a dead pool !
marksjeep
Well-known member
"Dead pool" is a very specific term. From the link below, Water above 1,050 feet elevation is considered “live storage” and a “dead pool” exists at 895 feet in elevation, which is the lowest water outlet at Hoover Dam.
Current elevation is 1060, so 165 feet to dead pool. Roughly 10 feet to inactive storage, where hydropower is affected (reduced capacity). 950 is the bottom of the minimum power pool, below which there is no power generation.
https://www.nps.gov/lake/learn/nature/storage-capacity-of-lake-mead.htm#:~:text=The minimum elevation to generate,water outlet at Hoover Dam.
ETA - picked up a whooopin' 0.15" of precip at the casa overnight.
And they knew when they signed the compact that it was based on abnormally wet years. They just chose to ignore it. Eugene C. La Rue was hired by the USGS to locate dam sites on the Colorado River. In his 1916 report, he noted that
He testified to Congress in 1925, and told them there was not enough water in the river for what they were planning. He referenced his 1916 report, and basically said that they had been warned for years.
Here is the estimated population of the Colorado River basin when La Rue was completing his report on the river.
Scott85
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- Nov 22, 2018
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I wonder how many bunker busters it would take to bring down the dam?
Irrelevant
Well-known member
Nice to see WY hasn't changed much. I mean if you told me 843 people lived in Kemmerer if believe it.
marksjeep
Well-known member
Historic being 1991-2020. Sure hope we get a bigger bump this year, but looking kind of meh at the moment.
Southern Elk
Well-known member
The upper Colorado looks pretty good. Should get a bump this year. It doesn’t solve anything long term, but it beats last year.
Maybe, maybe not. The difference between last year and this year is not that great.
I was out in Northern yellowstone County thenother day and it's scarry dry. Starting to see wind generated soil erosion in spots that were grazed hard last year.
Noticed some of that too. We’ve been so dry and the wind has blown so much this spring. But it is currently raining outside and we are over 1/4” for the nights total rainfall. But 60mph winds coming soon so should dry up quick
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So my rain gauge finally thawed and I got 2.1 inches in March to match the 2 in Feb & 2 in Dec & Nov. for a total of 12"+- for the year. No snow in Jan again this year.
Had a good monsoon that lacked any rain in July after getting it in June which has not happened in 13 yrs.
12" is not the 14" I was told is the average for this area of NM 20 years ago. They also said you could run a dozen head on a section here....lol
Large Pinions still dying from IPPS ,stressed. The good news is all the small trees are doing very good with no signs of beetles or stress. And I have hundreds of small trees that have come up in the 13 years since I moved here. Lucky for me the pinion have outgrown any juniper that have come up.
My shortgrass prairie grasses have recovered from overgrazing and the bald windblown areas have stabilized. Forage brush has also grown back and waiting for the deer again. Lots of elk & antelope.
Had a good monsoon that lacked any rain in July after getting it in June which has not happened in 13 yrs.
12" is not the 14" I was told is the average for this area of NM 20 years ago. They also said you could run a dozen head on a section here....lol
Large Pinions still dying from IPPS ,stressed. The good news is all the small trees are doing very good with no signs of beetles or stress. And I have hundreds of small trees that have come up in the 13 years since I moved here. Lucky for me the pinion have outgrown any juniper that have come up.
My shortgrass prairie grasses have recovered from overgrazing and the bald windblown areas have stabilized. Forage brush has also grown back and waiting for the deer again. Lots of elk & antelope.
sapperJ24
Well-known member
A few more products showing what you already know.
huntin24/7
Well-known member
We’re so dry up in NE MT. It’s pretty concerning, especially when you consider the long term outlook right now.
Bluffgruff
Well-known member
The March 22nd map was mostly green
ANGUS MARK
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- Sep 1, 2019
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I think we are going to see a continuation of one of the driest 5 years on record. Northern Ca at Lake Shasta is a mud puddle and no significant rain in the forecast. I have enough points for a great both elk and deer hunt in Colorado but I cant risk burning 24 years of waiting to hunt during this drought. I made that mistake during the last drought here a few years back in Northern Calif X zone and the ground was so dry its was cracking open. Saw more mountain lion evidence/sign than deer deer. I am opting to just hold on for another point for both elk & deer in Colorado and do more research etc. Hope for the weather patterns to get back to normal. Wish you the best; Good luck if you go.
