REMEMBER WHEN: Hoover Dam opens spillways in July 1983 — PHOTOS

Las Vegas Review-Journal

2 years ago

Tourists walk along the Arizona side of the spillway at the Hoover Dam on July 21, 1983. The fo ... — Tourists walk along the Arizona side of the spillway at the Hoover Dam on July 21, 1983. The force of the water funneling through the dam’s spillways kicked up a heavy spray. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The 1/2 mile long tunnel on the Nevada side of the Colorado River, south of Hoover Dam which carries spillway runoff into the river, is seen in July 1983. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Hoover Dam’s Arizona side spillway is seen as water flows over in fall 1983. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

This photo, taken July 22, 1983, shows the Arizona spillway at the Hoover Dam. (Bureau of Reclamation)

The Hoover Dam is seen on July 27, 1983. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Hoover Dam and Lake Mead are seen from the Arizona side in fall 1983. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Tourists are seen at the Hoover Dam in summer 1983. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

This photo, taken July 22, 1983, shows the Nevada spillway at the Hoover Dam. (Bureau of Reclamation)

Oh, to hear these words again: “Lake Mead, brimming with floodwaters from the Colorado River, is near capacity …”

On this day in 1983, Review-Journal readers were treated to front-page news (with a large photo!) about the lake nearing capacity. In fact, the lake was so full that the Hoover Dam’s spillways were opened weeks earlier on July 3, creating a show for tourists. It was the first time the spillways had been opened since 1941. The dam opened in 1936.

The Bureau of Reclamation said the lake reached its highest elevation of 1,225.85 feet on July 24, 1983.

Since then, it’s been a slow decline for the reservoir, thanks to climate change and a 22-year megadrought.

The depth of the lake was 1,040.99 feet (above sea level) as of Wednesday, about 27 percent of capacity. One year ago, it was at a depth of 1,067.89 feet.

Parties at the dam

In that 1983 article, the RJ said “the swelling lake has swallowed beaches and submerged roads and boat ramps.” The opening of the spillways was triggered by “unprecedented snowfall” in the Rocky Mountains.

And when the spillways opened up, visitors flocked to the dam to see the rare spectacle.

“The force of the water funneling through the spillways kicks up heavy spray that drives some tourists to digging umbrellas out of car trunks,” reporter Jeanne M. Hall wrote. “And dam security guards report all-night parties as young people, whose favorite beaches have been gobbled by the lake, are using the spillways as their party site.”

“We’re getting all the beach bums,” L.A. Jacobsen, chief of police at Hoover Dam, told the RJ. “We had a wet T-shirt contest here one night with about 15 young women.”

One California tourist told the RJ that seeing the dam’s spillways in action was a “once in a lifetime” experience. “I can go to Vegas anytime,” he said.

More than 8 million people visited Lake Mead in 2020, making the park one of the National Park Service’s busiest sites.

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the U.S., supplies water to some 40 million people across seven states, tribal lands and northern Mexico.

— Chris Lawrence contributed to this report.