For the third time since May, human skeletal remains have been found at Lake Mead, officials reported last week. It’s yet another grim discovery as the drought gripping the Western United States has helped push the country’s largest reservoir to new historic lows.
National Park Service rangers responded to a report around 8 p.m. on August 15 and found the remains in the Swim Beach area, Lake Mead National Recreation Area officials said.
As NBC News reports, back on May first, the decomposed body of someone police think was fatally shot in the 1970s or ’80s was found in a barrel as the Lake started its historic drop in water level. Skeletal remains were also discovered May 7, August 6 and now for the third time on August 15.
Other human remains were found at Lake Mead’s Swim Beach in Nevada on July 25. They were not skeletal, and it was not clear whether dropping water levels played a role in the discovery, a park official said at the time.
On August 16, the Interior Department announced reductions in the amount of water Arizona, Nevada and Mexico can draw from Lake Mead in 2023. The department in a statement cited a 23-year ongoing drought and historic low runoff conditions in the Colorado River Basin.
Tuesday’s announcement included designating Lake Mead to operate in a Tier-2a shortage. It is the first time the lake has been pushed to that designation. The prolonged drought and low runoff to the Colorado River have been accelerated by climate change, officials said.
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