If Californian's domestic demands are greater than the California allocation, Arizona would share that much of its unused allocation as is necessary to meet the California need. If Nevada's domestic demands are greater than Nevada's allocation, Arizona and California would share that much of their unused allocation as is necessary to meet the Nevada need. 7 One half of the domestic demands beyond Nevada's basic apportionment in SNWA's service area would also be met. The maximum elevation of Lake Mead is 1,219.6 feet. It would perhaps not have dictated a surplus determination under the existing criteria, as the methodology for determining surplus looks more to predictions of inflow, demand and an essentially full reservoir objective.
All elevations are elevations above mean sea level.
The minimum power pool in Lake Mead is at 1083 feet, where 9.76 maf of storage remains. There is 3.07 maf of storage capacity in Lake Mead between elevations 1050 and 1000. The shortage strategy thus protects SNWA's water intake system. In a shortage year, no more than 4.4 maf would be delivered to California, no more than 2.3 maf would be delivered to Arizona. 4 At 1145 feet, there is 15.59 maf of storage capacity in Lake Mead.