A historic and disastrous drought has exposed a water valve in Lake Mead for the first time, but the receding lake also revealed bodies just days apart, a link to the Vegas mob and a looming water shortage for several states.
As water recedes, skeletal remains emerge in Lake Mead
Lake Mead and Lake Powell are drying up under devastating drought conditions. The lakes are the two largest water reservoirs in the United States. Lake Mead borders Nevada and Arizona and is located about 40 miles east of Las Vegas, the US Sun reports.
Over the weekend, new human remains emerged as water levels declined. It came just days after a decomposed body in a metal barrel was found at the shoreline on May 1, NBC reported.
Speculation bodies are mob victims
It’s well-known that the Mafia had a hand in establishing Las Vegas casinos, led initially by mobster Bugsy Siegel in 1946, opening the flamingo. After his 1947 murder, other monsters helped build the Sahara, the Sands, the new frontier in the Riviera, according to history.com. Las Vegas is home to The Mob Museum.
Geoff Schumacher, the vice-president of the Mob Museum, speculates more bodies will be discovered.
“A barrel has a signature of a mob hit – stuffing a party in a barrel,” Schumacher says. “Sometimes, they would dump it in the water.”
“I think a lot of these individuals will likely have been drowning victims,” Shoemaker added.
“If the lake goes down much farther, it’s possible we’re going to have some very interesting things surface,” observed Michael Green, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas history professor, the Guardian reported. “I would be willing to bet there are going to be a few more bodies.”
Water valve exposed for the first time
As Lake Mead plummets to an unprecedented low, for the first time, its original 1971 water intake valve has been exposed above the waterline, CNN reported. With water well below the valve, it can no longer draw water, according to the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
Looming water shortage for several Western states
The worsening depletion of the Colorado River’s reservoirs, such as those at Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two largest in the country, are expected to continue declining in the coming months, according to federal projections, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Federal officials expect the water shortage will reach a level that will trigger larger water cuts in 2023, affecting Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico, and could eventually force similar reductions in California. The Colorado River supplies water to nearly 40 million people as it flows from the Rocky Mountains to Southern California.
Parts of Southern California have already put water restrictions in place, limiting outdoor watering to one day a week beginning on June 1, while at the same time asking residents to reduce their usage by 35%, CNN reported. Officials say they are prepared to ban all outdoor watering on September 1.
At the same time, officials are concerned some communities may not have enough water to get through the summer, which may force them to make unprecedented cuts.
