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Adam Klepp<\/p>\n
Hoover Dam<\/p>\n
Rising more than 700 feet above the Colorado River, construction on the Hoover Dam began in 1931 and was completed in 1936<\/a>. It formed Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the U.S.. Water from the reservoir falls through large pipes inside the dam, spinning turbines that generate electricity for customers across Arizona, Nevada and California.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have less water in a reservoir, you have less pressure pushing water through these essentially giant pipes and culverts that are below eye level of what we can view standing on the shores of Lake Mead or Lake Powell,\u201d said Kyle Roerink, senior advisor with the Great Basin Water Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n As the reservoir\u2019s elevation has declined, so has the dam\u2019s ability to produce power.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have less water, you\u2019re just you\u2019re going to get less power,\u201d Roerink said.<\/p>\n A critical threshold at 1,035 feet<\/p>\n The biggest threat may not be a gradual decline.<\/p>\n Recent technical assessments show several of Hoover Dam\u2019s older turbines could suffer severe cavitation damage if Lake Mead falls below elevation 1,035 feet. Cavitation occurs when vapor bubbles form and collapse inside moving water, potentially damaging turbine components.<\/p>\n Adam Klepp<\/p>\n Lake Mead Marina as seen from the air near Boulder City, Nevada<\/p>\n At that elevation, updated federal data indicate Hoover Dam\u2019s generating capacity could be more than 70% lower<\/a> than officials previously estimated.<\/p>\n The dam\u2019s newer wide-head turbines could continue operating at lower lake elevations, allowing Hoover to keep producing some electricity. But its total generating capacity would be sharply reduced.<\/p>\n \u201cThe power that\u2019s generated out of Lake Mead supports up to a million households. It\u2019s the the annual power consumption of about a million households,\u201d said Dr. Trey Flowers, executive director of the Division of Hydrologic Sciences at the Desert Research Institute.<\/p>\n Arizona receives 19% of Hoover\u2019s firm power<\/p>\n Arizona receives about 19% of Hoover Dam\u2019s firm electricity.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Lake](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788384012_613_.png\")
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