Feds see shortage in 2018 Lake Mead water to Arizona, Nevada

FILE--In this Oct. 14, 2015, file photo, a riverboat glides through Lake Mead on the Colorado River at Hoover Dam near Boulder City, Nev. Amid an historic drought in the West, federal water managers are due to release an annual projection of surface levels at Lake Mead that'll determine whether water deliveries from the crucial Colorado River reservoir will be cut next year to Arizona, Nevada and California. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, file) FILE--In this Oct. 14, 2015, file photo, a riverboat glides through Lake Mead on the Colorado River at Hoover Dam near Boulder City, Nev. Amid an historic drought in the West, federal water managers are due to release an annual projection of surface levels at Lake Mead that'll determine whether water deliveries from the crucial Colorado River reservoir will be cut next year to Arizona, Nevada and California. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, file)

By Associated Press August 16, 2016 1 min read

LAS VEGAS (AP) – Amid punishing drought, federal water managers are projecting – by a very narrow margin- that Lake Mead won’t have enough water to make full deliveries to Nevada and Arizona in 2018.

A 24-month projection released Tuesday comes with the largest Colorado River reservoir 36 percent full.

But it’s still expected to clear the trigger point this year to avoid a shortage declaration in 2017.

For 2018, the federal Bureau of Reclamation projects missing the mark by under a foot.

Officials note that reservoirs in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico are at higher levels this year than in recent years.