Lake Mead critical elevation guide

Lake Mead Dead Pool: 895 Feet Explained

At Lake Mead elevation 895 feet above mean sea level, water reaches Hoover Dam's dead-pool elevation. Under the existing configuration, releases through the dam are no longer possible below this intake limit.

Lake Projections reference guide

In brief

What this elevation does—and does not—mean

  • Reclamation identifies 895 feet as dead pool and the top of dead storage.
  • Below this elevation, water cannot reach Hoover Dam's existing release works by gravity.
  • Dead pool does not mean an empty Lake Mead; water remains below the elevation but is not releasable through the existing dam works.
Schematic Lake Mead elevation scale placing the Dead pool at 895 ft among Hoover Dam's three low-elevation thresholds
895 ft in context with the other Hoover Dam thresholds. Lake Projections schematic based on elevations in Reclamation's July 2026 Final EIS, Technical Appendix 15.

What dead pool means at Hoover Dam

Dead pool is an infrastructure term. Reclamation places the bottom of Hoover Dam's intake towers for the penstocks at elevation 895 feet and identifies that elevation as dead pool. Below it, releases are no longer possible through the existing dam configuration.

The term does not mean that Lake Mead contains no water. Reclamation's capacity allocation calls 895 feet the top of dead storage: water can remain below the outlet elevation even though gravity cannot move it through the dam's existing release works.

How dead pool differs from minimum power pool

Minimum power pool is higher, at an estimated 950 feet. From 950 down to 895 feet, Hoover Dam can no longer generate hydropower through its turbines, but water can still be released through river outlet works.

At 895 feet, that remaining gravity-release pathway reaches its lower limit. The 55-foot interval between the two thresholds is therefore an inactive pool, not dead pool throughout.

How to read dead-pool projections

A forecast approaching 895 feet should be read with its publication date, assumptions, and scenario label. A single deterministic trace does not establish the probability that dead pool will occur.

The physical threshold is distinct from policy choices, conservation actions, and operating rules intended to protect critical infrastructure. Use official Reclamation notices for operating decisions.

Primary references

Sources

Forecasts are planning information, not guaranteed outcomes. Use official Reclamation notices for current operating decisions.