At Hoover Dam, less water means less power

[marmar]

BOULDER CITY, Nev. (KSNV) — As we enter our third decade of drought, the so-called "bathtub ring" around Lake Mead showcases how much water we've lost.

And down at the base of Hoover Dam, which made Lake Mead possible, I talked with Len Schilling, the man in charge of one of America's engineering marvels.

“So, as that water level lowers, we have less pressure pushing down on our turbines, so each turbine can make less power, so that's the impact,” says Schilling, the area manager for the Lower Colorado Dams Office, which oversees Hoover, Parker, and Davis dams.

Behind Schilling sit nine turbines on the Arizona side and eight on the Nevada side, for a total of 17. Schilling says that since the beginning of the drought, Hoover Dam is now producing 25% less power for dozens of cities, tribes, and agencies. ...........(more)

https://news3lv.com/news/local/at-hoover-dam-less-water-means-less-power

[leftieNanner]

1. Unexpected Consequences

I hadn't even thought about the ramifications of the power generation at Hoover Dam and the drought.

One of our local lakes that is used for agriculture irrigation (and is scooped up by the helicopters when we get wildfires) is down to 11% of capacity!

[roamer65]

2. It's going to hit "dead pool".

Dead pool is 895 ft elevation. At around 1050 ft, power generation ceases.

https://www.nps.gov/lake/learn/nature/storage-capacity-of-lake-mead.htm