Low Snowpack Has Little Effect on Lake Havasu
While convention and visitors bureau officials in Lake Havasu City usually compete with businesses around Lake Mead and Lake Powell for tourist dollars, there’s one thing about those upstream attractions they’re happy about: water.
Lots of water. Water for Lake Havasu that remains consistent despite an unusually warm March, lower mountain snowpack and estimates that 2012 will be the second-driest year the Colorado River has seen since the drought began in 2000.
While Mead and Powell are down this year by 80 to 100 feet, Lake Havasu is showing just a few feet of variation, which is one of the advantages of its design.
Lakes Powell and Mead are called storage reservoirs and as such are drawn up or down as needed to supply water further south. According to Rose Davis, Lower Colorado Region public affairs officer for the Bureau of Reclamation in Boulder City, Nev., “We draw down Powell first to feed Mead, then Mead supplies Lake Havasu to guarantee sufficient water for cities in southern California and elsewhere in Arizona.”
Davis continues, “Lake Havasu is an important part of the whole Colorado River system. Recreation, ecology and economics are all factors in maintaining a consistent lake level through careful management of upstream releases.”
Lake Havasu is thus one of the last places on the Colorado River system subject to water fluctuations. The Bureau of Reclamation works to keep water levels consistent for water supplies to move to southern California and Arizona’s urban centers, and to other downstream water users, according to Davis.
This bodes well for boaters, paddlers, sailors and anglers planning a summer vacation in the Lake Havasu City region. Water sports enthusiasts will also benefit from new dredging that increases navigation on Lake Havasu to over 60 miles from Needles in the north to the Bill Williams National Wildlife Refuge by Parker Dam to the south; a Designated Operator program that encourages safe boating; and recently installed buoys marking new no-wake zones, according to Jim Salscheider, president and CEO of the Lake Havasu City Marine Association ( www.lhmarineassn.com ).
Adds Douglas Traub, president and CEO of the Lake Havasu City Convention and Visitors Bureau, “It’s as if one of the most sophisticated river management systems in the world was designed for people to have fun here on the water. California asparagus will dry up and San Diego will be gasping for water before we see any effect of low snowmelt around our shores.”
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About Lake Havasu City
Lake Havasu City, three hours driving time from Phoenix, 2-1/4 hours south of Las Vegas and four to five from the Los Angeles region, attracts 775,000 visitors a year thanks to its dry, desert weather, more than 300 sunny days a year, a range of restaurants and lodging, and a boatload of special events.
For more information on Lake Havasu City, Arizona’s only waterfront resort destination, including a 2014-15 calendar of events, visit golakehavasu.com or call 928-453-3444. Also find Lake Havasu City online at facebook.com/lakehavasucityarizona and twitter.com/golakehavasu . Photos of dozens of images of local recreational activities, restaurants, lodging and scenery are available upon request.
Contact:
Jamie Gribbon/Jeff Blumenfeld
Blumenfeld and Assoc. PR
203-655-1600
Michelle Gardia Lake Havasu City CVB 928-453-3444
