Lake Mead is a giant reservoir filled with Colorado River water. The man-made lake formed in the 1930s after the completion of Hoover Dam.

Hoover Dam sits in Black Canyon on the Nevada-Arizona border. It regulates the flow of water to prevent flooding during wet years and to provide adequate water during droughts. The dam also generates power for southern California and Nevada.

More than 88 percent of Southern Nevada's water supply comes from the Colorado River via Lake Mead, which can store up to 26 million acre-feet of water.

Destratification
SNWA scientists study Lake Mead to know what organisms are present in the water and determine the best water treatment processes. Each summer, the lake is closely monitored for destratification.

The lake's top layer of water is much warmer than the deeper water that remains cooler. The natural separation of warm and cold water is known as stratification, or the formation of layers. This process helps protect our water supply because it forms a type of barrier that helps keep organisms and pollutants near the surface.

As the weather grows warmer and water temperatures rise, the top layer of water begins to mix with the cooler, deep water. This process is called destratification, which can increase the possibility of pollutants traveling near our water treatment facility intake pipes. Scientists keep a close eye on the lake during the summer, when demand for water is at its highest.