At Lake Mead, the fourth set of human remains are discovered as the water level continues to drop
Officials said they discovered more human remains near Lake Mead on Saturday.
The fourth set of human skeleton remains discovered in the lake since May has been discovered by park guards at the lake’s Swim Beach.
Remains will be recovered by a dive team from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, park rangers said. In the meantime, the county medical examiner is trying to figure out what happened.
Lake Mead, about 20 miles east of Las Vegas, was created by the Hoover Dam and has the largest storage capacity of any U.S. reservoir. Millions of people rely on it for their drinking water.
The following is a timeline of the most recent discoveries of human remains in Lake Mead:
The reservoir has been dry for 22 years, and the latest finding of human remains in the lake comes at a critical time.
According to NASA, Lake Mead has reached its lowest water levels since 1937 and is currently at 27% capacity.
The Associated Press reported in May that Las Vegas began pumping water from deeper in the lake as the reservoir got depleted.
Droughts continue to wreak havoc across the West, made worse by global warming. Since at least 1,200 years ago, the region has seen its driest period.
As reported by Colorado’s KUNC member station’s Alex Hager, the three western states and the federal government have signed a $200 million agreement to try and keep more water in Lake Mead this year and next.