Six drought years have reshaped the lake that supplies water to cities in Nevada, Arizona, Southern California and Mexico. There are fishing piers hanging over the desert, fish-cleaning houses nowhere near a lake, boat ramps extended until they resemble roads. The surface of Lake Mead has dropped 100 feet in six years. If it drops 50 feet lower, Las Vegas could lose an intake that supplies 40 percent of its water. Simultaneously, "Hoover Dam stops generating electricity," said Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority. "At the same level where we lose our upper intake, there is no more power out of Hoover." Mulroy hopes the next president will create a team of all federal agencies attached to water resources to develop a survival plan for the driest and fastest-growing region of the United States. The rapid decline of Lake Mead "begs the question for a comprehensive look at climate change," she said. "Our world is going to change dramatically."
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