Lake Mead Makes Garden Irrigation Possible

With a robust irrigation system, it’s possible to have a productive flower or vegetable garden even when you live in an area like Las Vegas where the average rainfall is only slightly more than four inches a year. It’s important to make sure your irrigation system is up to the demands that are placed upon it, however, so you’ll need to keep contact information for Las Vegas irrigation repair services close at hand.

America’s Largest Reservoir: Lake Mead

Every time you irrigate your garden, you can thank Lake Mead. This manmade lake, which can hold 28.5 million acre-feet of water when it’s filled to capacity, is the largest reservoir in the U.S. Lake Mead straddles the border between the states of Nevada and Arizona. It was formed by the construction of the Hoover Dam at the height of the Great Depression. Not only does Lake Mead provide water to the city of Las Vegas, it also provides water to the rest of the State of Nevada as well as to many communities in Arizona and California.

The Colorado River

The Hoover Dam holds back the waters of the Colorado River. Before the dam was built, the Colorado flooded regularly, which was disastrous for the communities in its path. Once the Colorado was dammed, and a dependable source for water assured, great cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix sprang up across the southwest. When the dam was finally completed in 1935, it was the highest dam in the world. You could build a two-lane highway that stretched clear across the continental United States with all the concrete used in its construction. The dam requires that amount of concrete because it had to stand up to the vast amount of pressure exerted by the waters of Lake Mead. Lake Mead is not just a water reservoir; it is also one of the country’s premiere national recreation areas.