Lake Mead's Rising Water Levels Draw Labor Day Crowds Despite Ongoing Repairs

LAS VEGAS – Labor Day brought a pleasant surprise for visitors to Lake Mead, as the reservoir’s rising water levels were a welcome sight, even as repairs continued at Las Vegas Boat Harbor in the aftermath of August’s storms.

As of Labor Day, Lake Mead’s water levels stood at 1,066 feet, a significant increase from the 1,044 feet recorded in 2022. This rise in water levels is particularly noteworthy, as it puts the lake just two feet shy of the levels recorded during the same holiday weekend in 2021.

“We heard that the water was coming back up a little bit, so we just wanted to come out and see what it’s like and just enjoy the holiday,” said James Lentini, who was relaxing with his wife Kim outside the Harbor House Café, a floating restaurant at Las Vegas Harbor.

Despite the recent challenges caused by high waves and storm damage to docks and boats at Lake Mead, the Harbor House Café resumed welcoming visitors over the weekend.

“We’ve worked a lot of hours, and we’ve (been) doing a lot of headway,” stated Gail Kaiser, owner of Las Vegas Boat Harbor. “We’ve got the restaurant open. We’ve got power to all of the marina.”

However, it was noted that the harbor could not operate at full capacity during the holiday due to certain limitations.

“We had to cancel our rental boats for this weekend, mainly because of the fuel situation, but we did get fuel backup yesterday,” Kaiser explained.

The weekend’s storms also had repercussions around Lake Mead, leading some individuals to reconsider visiting the National Recreation Area due to flash flooding and related safety concerns.

“We did have a lot of flash flooding across the park,” shared John Haynes, a public affairs officer with Lake Mead National Recreation Area. “We did have personnel out helping to clear the roads and, more importantly, helping to keep people safe and stop them from trying to cross the flooded roads.”

Credits: News3LV