Hoover Dam Spillway Overflow 1983

[@johnhansen6538]

I too visited the Hoover Dam in the Summer of ’83 and witnessed the opened spillways. Apparently, the record surface elevation of Lake Mead was recorded on July 24, when the level was over two feet above the spillways; the resulting water flow was so substantial as to cause cavitation that damaged the concrete of the drainage tunnels. All seventeen of the dam’s turbines were spinning full-bore 24/7, causing the dam’s entire structure to vibrate noticeably at 180 Hz (3 phases x 60 Hz), as the turbines collectively generated as much power as 2-3 large nuclear reactors. At the time, I was returning to my senior year of college in Cambridge, Mass., driving a ’63 Studebaker Lark Daytona cross-country; this is the only time I ever saw the Hoover Dam in person.

[@tricct5890]

Wow that’s actually amazing

[@henrysmith7276]

Any other cool stories about your cross country trip?

[@ortizracing7534]

Cool story n information thanks for sharing

[@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503]

Westinghouse turbines... WOW...that would of been cool to witness... I watched the dummies overfill Lake Oroville here few Years back...yeah some idiot thought it would be a good idea to let the lake fill with record snowpack behind it and a pineapple Express blew in.... whoosh! I live 4 miles downstream as a crow flies

[@Pau_Pau9]

I must witness Hoover Dam now before it gets any worse..

[@CarlosSanchez-wp4ye]

I remember seeing the spillover as a young kid. The spray from the mist was refreshing, but the sound of the water crashing is something I’ll never forget. Such a great memory.

[@noericardo1490]

Woah a pocho generation 2, it must have been great to grow in that country, of course without the racisms and shootings they usually have..

[@CarlosSanchez-wp4ye]

@@noericardo1490 not sure where you are from, friend.

[@noericardo1490]

Hahaha just translate my name, querido Carlos

[@jamestheredd]

I visited Hoover for the first time a few years ago and I remember just how breathtakingly large these spillway tunnels were, let alone the size of the dam. It would have been incredible to see the tunnels in use. The Hoover Dam is a truly incredible feat of engineering.

[@Jessicaddy]

This video is a true, valuable piece of history. Thank you so much for sharing this! I was a 90s kid, and my grandmother was always taping things, so I’m lucky to have videos from life before home videos were in everyone’s hands every day of the week. This makes me so grateful that someone with the passion to film happened to be at the Hoover Dam in the summer of ‘83 to get this footage. My jaw dropped at the sight of it because when I saw this in person, the intake towers looked like actual TOWERS.

[@patriot9455]

I used to drive 18 wheel trucks during the 80's. I remember how the lake looked at full size. I retired from driving, and these pictures, movies and still, bring back wonderful memories

[@andrew6978]

Just visited yesterday, it's nuts how low the water level is now compared to then. You can see where the canyon walls have been "bleached".

[@tobyw9573]

Not bleached, the white stuff is mineral deposits.

[@tobyw9573]

Hard hat tour was great!

[@CoasterFreak59]

I just went to lake mead and literally accidentally went to the Hoover dam

[@crunchu2361]

Its even worse now

[@maximumhardcore4362]

@@tobyw9573 no kidding it’s not “bleached”- has to be a smartass everywhere

[@soundseeker63]

Water levels aside, old footage makes you appreciate what a timeless and superbly made structure the dam is. Things were built to last in those days, and of course the architecture was very elegant too.

[@someguy2135]

FDR was at the opening.

[@ivsaken5830]

@@someguy2135 that's awesome

[@harryballsacky]

WHEN WE KNEW WHICH BATHROOM TO USE

[@hubriswonk]

And the gorgeous 80's girl in the red shorts!

[@FkTheGov]

@@hubriswonk Oh yeah!!!

[@jamespremo5049]

Who’s here after watching the “record low” level in June 2021?

[@dragosmihai4218]

Me

[@MP-fy1et]

Just watched it on channel 13 news

[@fireprollc8561]

Yep me too

[@BongoBennieTV]

I am, also live in Boulder City since 81

[@kevenkokos1388]

me too

[@josephmartino9958]

I visited Boulder dam in January 1983, took the tour, went thru the generator room, walked outside on the dock...best $1 admission price ever paid

[@BigRyan505]

This video you took is priceless. Sadly, I'm not sure Lake Mead will ever see those levels again, at least anytime soon. But who knows, a pattern of heavy wet seasons may bring the level up again rather quickly. Thanks for sharing this.

[@harlandeke]

It will

[@trishapastas2961]

Not with climate change

[@bullhead900]

@@trishapastas2961 Ah yes, an indoctrinated one.

[@trishapastas2961]

@@MuffinCHeeler i don't "believe" i know for a fact that it's real boomer

[@trishapastas2961]

@@MuffinCHeeler can you tell me how a satellite in space aimed directly at earth and constantly sampling temperature data from everywhere on earth, can be "moved to where it's warmer"

[@dr.OgataSerizawa]

By the end of the film, I had 2 little tears just barely running down both sides of my face. And had an ache in my belly. Thank you immensely for sharing this emotional (for me) film clip.

[@JF32304]

Better times back then for you?

[@paulkurilecz4209]

Welcome everyone. I am your dam guide, Arnie. Now I'm about to take you through a fully functional power plant, so please, no one wander off the dam tour and please take all the dam pictures you want. Now are there any dam questions? -- Arnie, "Vegas Vacation" Couldn't resist, thanks for posting the film and stills. Pretty amazing that this is only about forty years ago.

[@JustChuck]

Where is the dam bait?

[@cowboy4309]

We went from California to Arizona to a cousins wedding and stopped to see all the commotion! Was amazing to see the power of water... also took the tour inside the dam and could feel the water rushing through the spillway....then went home and got married in July,it was a good year!

[@knife-wieldingspidergod5059]

Yes, summer of '83. Done with high school that year.

[@Batman-nf4nn]

You could have not felt the water rushing through the spillway or its 50 ft. Diameter concrete pipe, what you felt was the water rushing through the intake pipes that the split into smaller pipes to the turbines... , I was there in '98 and took the Hard Hat Tour... so I know and also lived the experience... its amazing, loud, scary etc... but totally worth it !! , scary being down there as we were and some pipe burst (it crossed my mind while there) if happened, we would not be telling the story. Thank God everything still there working...

[@mikeanderson4796]

I lived in Vegas from '79-84 & recall my family driving to the dam to see this. Thanks for sharing!

[@randomtravelinstinct]

Superb footage. Thank you for taking this out from your archives and sharing on KZbin.

[@Jameister60]

Outstanding video. If I had known that the spillways were active in 1983 I would have taken time off from work and hightailed it over to Hoover. A once in a lifetime event.

[@-xirx-]

Literally once in a lifetime!

[@michaeldepodesta001]

Thank you. I visited in 1986 and Lake Mead was full but not overflowing. It's hard to believe we will ever see such events again.

[@DavidSmith-tu1nd]

The day lake mead is overflowing at the spillway is the day man walks on the moon again. Not anytime soon.

[@zionistjew2050]

I'll give it 20 years, if humanity is still standing. Which I think by then the first Terra-firming processes will happen on the Planet Mars. Jesus Christ wins

[@VaporheadATC]

@@DavidSmith-tu1nd You do know that we will be on the moon again within a couple years, right?

[@DavidSmith-tu1nd]

@@VaporheadATC Rovers maybe. But not a manned mission anytime soon.

[@VaporheadATC]

@@DavidSmith-tu1nd Manned mission to the moon is scheduled for 2025, only 3 years away.

[@davidmiller3958]

Thank you for posting this. I remember being fascinated by the empty spillways and their scale. It's crazy to think this may never happen again.

[@jonnyblayze5149]

@@johnperic6860 yep, just the cycle.of the Earth

[@Demane69]

@@jonnyblayze5149 The "cycle of the Earth" is change. If it becomes a stagnant pool, the mechanics may not be able to be maintained indefinitely. Weather doesn't always come back around in 1 or even a few human life times. Water levels may rise again, or they may not for 20 or 100 years. The "green Sahara" and "desert Sahara" cycle for example, is 20,000 years. The biggest fault with humanity is its short sighted nature, defined by an extremely short life span, and an even shorter attention span.

[@TomMurson]

Very very interesting and informative. I just visited for the first time 2 weeks ago and water levels were much much lower..I was very intrigued by the spillways and couldn't even fathom water ever reaching them, because currently the water is so far away from them. My initial (and ignorant) intuition told me these were built out of paranoia and over caution, because I couldn't imagine water levels reaching that threshold. But then I took the tour and learned about the events of 83'. I was delighted to find this great presentation recently posted on here. Very well done. It's a huge credit to the designers and builders that the dam was able to withstand that amount of water.

[@peanutismint]

Amazing footage! Thanks so much for posting this. I didn't think anyone would have documented the spillway overflow but it's increasingly fascinating nowadays, having not been even close to spilling over in the past 30+ years.....

[@RickZackExploreOffroad]

Except for 1996-2000 when it spilled over for 5 consecutive years. www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/lakemead_line.pdf

[@Tracer2376]

I heard about this a year after this happened. Both Spill Ways suffered some catastrophic damage. The reason I know why my dad and his team of workers helped prepare both Arizona and Nevada Spill Ways.Took them over 3 years to repair the damage the water caused back then. I can still remember going to Lake Mead and where Las Vegas marina once stood, to Boulder launch area of that marina being near Sattel Island. Now it is no longer like that at all. Where Boulder is now there were some areas we use to jump off cliffs into the water. I remember going to Sandy Beach area as well forget together and everyone joined in that was great. Years later I found out what my dad and his crew endured besides heat. People on the AZ side would throw beer bottles, rocks etc at them when they were working. Remember this was back in about 1984. Two of his crew were hit by projectiles, one being very badly injured. And later died due to the injury, I remember hearing my dad on the phone that night. People think it is funny to do things like this, till this happens. Later on, they got the contract to move the visitors center and everything else. And today what hurts me the most, is now seeing where the lake is. My dad assisted with all 3 straws. And still nothing to show for it.

[@Nastyfinger1444]

Hopefully the jackasses that hurt the workers with bottle throwing somehow suffer due to draught.

[@mandatethis8024]

It’s glo-ball worming !!!!! Ask any professor at your local brainwashing facility

[@Batman-nf4nn]

I would not say "catastrophic" damage, that means they broke and went down river.... or they could not do their job, they performed well... , i would have said "severe" damage that then was repaired...

[@billhillify4924]

Glen Canyon Dam was the spillway that suffered near catastrophe due to cavitation.

[@rodrudinger9902]

Unfortunately, there is very little those idiots; and the "gentleman" on here; care about Global Warming, People who do construction work, and weather and climate forecasting; which also takes a LOT of work, not to mention putting their lives in danger (You think getting ice corings, or other information, is easy?) or much of anything else. Just give them; their beer, "boob tube", and internet "trolling"; and they're happy. Very, very sad.

[@t-wrecks7481]

What a difference almost 40 years makes.

[@angry-white-men]

Yep, just in time for millennials and their kids to have to live with the mess boomers created.

[@alexwatson5507]

Generation simp have got no chance of dealing with it either.

[@kylejones8219]

I agree 👍

[@dannypowers4995]

Smaller population in 1983 taking water out of reservoir. Population compounds just like money.

[@dannypowers4995]

In 40 years from now it will look like a small creek. The population in USA could be a billion people.

[@mikekelly607]

I remember it well. Laughlin casinos downriver were placing sandbags to keep river water out of their riverfront casinos during this event. The spillways hadn't operated since the Dam's opening in 1935, and when they began operating again in '83, they were spilling so much water that lake water was falling from the skies in broad daylight. The roar of water was almost deafening. Lake Mead got so full that sailboats were running their masts into powerlines in areas where they wouldn't normally be sailing. An event that won't be seen again in ours or our children's lifetimes.

[@californiamade5608]

You never know. It could happen again before 2050 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@LouisJaocby]

@@californiamade5608 I thinks it's more realistic that there won't be a Lake Mead anymore in 2050

[@Samuel-t5f7n]

Lived in Vegas for 36 years, moved there at the age of 8 in 1978. My parents would take us out to the dam for the tour down inside Hoover. Still have pictures of those trips and man was it an awesome site. 🙂👍

[@GuamChris]

Great video! 1983 was a terrible El Nino year. I was stationed at Vandenberg AFB in California at the time and a bunch of us were detailed to sandbag certain areas on the base. The flooding caused major damage to the road leading to the main gate. The soil beneath the two right lanes eroded quickly and collapsed about 20 ft. below street level. I seem to recall it destroying about 50-60 feet of road. I now live in Las Vegas and we can certainly use that water today!

[@lohphat]

My first trip to the dam was in 1983 after my HS graduation. I remember this when it happened and the roar of the water as it poured over the spillway gates and into the tunnel. The raw power actually gave me vertigo watching the large mass of water move that quickly.

[@TheKurtsPlaceChannel]

Amazing footage. I was fortunate to see water flowing down the spillways back in the 80's as well. I just got back from visiting the Hoover Dam 1 week ago. Amazing engineering marvel and a nice video too. Take care.

[@rdgk1se3019]

The Kurt's Place Channel Do you remember the roar of the water in that "sound proof" room?

[@mlb6d9]

Probably the ONLY way we'll ever get to see something like this - Thank you for sharing!

[@milt6208]

The Bureau of Reclamation in 1983 under estimated the Colorado snow pack and kept all of the lakes on the Colorado River filled. When the large snow pack started to melt they knew they were in trouble. At Glen Canyon they used plywood to keep the water from overflowing the dam. The spillways tunnels at Hover Dam were eroding from the water. And at Davis Dam down river they had to use small dynamite charges to loosen the spillways chains to open them. It was quite a year.

[@nigel900]

Drought’s come and go, Philo…

[@mlb6d9]

@@nigel900 Yes they do, but chances of us seeing it spill over again in the next 20 yrs aren't looking good

[@oiltrough10]

I was there in 1983. Spectacular. That mist felt so good in the summer heat.

[@Faceripper4000]

Just visited Hoover dam for the first time date oct 2024. Wish I could have seen it like this back in the day. Sad to see the water levels so low. Still, Hoover dam is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.

[@dwaynecoy1871]

I remember driving the car over the damn. That used to be the only road available to cross on to the other side of the canyon. Awesome experience. I understand the new road and bridge also have a great view and cut down significantly on traffic backups, but driving across the damn was worth the hassle. Nothing like it!

[@5358-i4s]

9/11 happened.

[@josephmcclary9667]

There is no view. They built the walls on the bridge high on purpose to prevent accidents from people looking at the dam instead of where they are driving.

[@ynot0714]

@@josephmcclary9667 True, no view from a car but you can walk out onto the bridge!

[@johnc3601]

EXCELLENT Video !!!! ✔️ I was at the dam when the water was cascading over the spillways in 1983 also. I drove out there from Chicago on a 2 week vacation. It's a shame just how low the water level is today 😥

[@ktpinnacle]

Was doing fieldwork at the Lake for my Master's degree in the summer/fall of 1982 and 1983. I got to see this first hand. Quite the sight. Fortunately, the lake is higher now than it's been in many years - nearly 20 feet higher than its low point for this date in 2016.

[@Christoph-sd3zi]

This didn't age well.

[@ktpinnacle]

@@Christoph-sd3zi It certainly didn’t. But I didn’t make any prognostications.

[@1971bdott]

Wow that’s beautiful,amazing how quickly things have changed. Thanks for sharing this wonderful look into the history of the dam. I have many happy memories of playing in lake mead and visiting the dam threw the 70’s &80’s.

[@Livereater]

The population boom of California, Las Vegas, and Arizona helped suck Lake Mead dry... along with increased agricultural needs and drought.

[@rockyracoon3233]

Matt Beeman The answer is desalination plants in CA and a pipeline to Lake Mead!!!

[@we-got-green__lightsabersy1807]

Livereater00 Californians global warming all the hot air being barked out by illegals and liberals are affecting Utah and Colorado snow packs!

[@HeavyInsider]

Chemtrails dried everything up all over the Southwest

[@prohen3049]

Democrats shipped all that water to Mexico and will keep doing it as long as they can get away with it

[@OmegaHellHound543]

This is why we need Thanos

[@cjinreallife]

So nostalgic. I hope one day that somehow Lake Mead will fill again and this isn't the only memories we will have of it full. Thanks for converting and sharing this video. Saw your clips and interview on AccuWeather so I came to check the whole video out.

[@jpsmith81]

This dam was designed to be a thing of beauty. Even it spilling water is beautiful to behold unlike the much more utilitarian design of the Glen Canyon Dam.

[@RCAvhstape]

It was built in the era of art deco style which is both futuristic and timeless.

[@josghorn]

Funny how you posted this only a day before I thought of trying to find some footage of the 83 flood. Thanks for taking the time to put it up.

[@SolarSteveW]

I can't imagine that the Bureau of Reclamation or even the Army Corps of Engineers didn't take a lot of footage of the full lake and spillway for study or posterity. It's all probably rotting somewhere or been thrown out. The flooding and spillway received some news coverage at the time, and likely inspired some TV coverage.

[@Mystic0157]

archive.org/details/10373_brt40con133_hm_california_trips_boulder_dam

[@SolarSteveW]

This is a great film! The date of the Boulder Dam segment is Oct 17, 1941, which was during the test phase after construction. Too bad the film is so underexposed, but it clearly shows the water over the spillway. It's not crystal clear, but I think that the spillway gates were in the lowered configuration, which is about 16 feet below the level attained in 1983. Thanks for the link!

[@bruced4077]

SolarSteveW spillway is only one level

[@H.pylori]

Great find! Note that parking was allowed on top of the dam at that time.

[@mikewhitcomb6558]

I was there! I had moved back to LA from Henderson the year before but was there visiting friends, man that was an awesome sight!

[@TOGAAviation30]

Seriously man?

[@G274Me]

It’ll never happen again

[@milt6208]

When out there about 10 times just to see the show. I live in Las Vegas.

[@DesertRockfall]

Roll that beautiful spillway footage! Thanks for sharing a rare event!

[@mitchellr8600]

Thanks so much for posting this! This is great video. These big dams of the southwest fascinate me. I remember seeing the dry spillways as a kid and wondering what it would look like to see them flowing. Now I know :) I especially love the shot of windshield wipers being used due to the mist.

[@MEXPCGAMER]

the girl in red shorts @ 01:38 is probably 60 years old by now. I'm sad to say it, but I think we passed the point of no return, the lake will never will be full ever again.

[@rachidali1574]

I was there in 83 and watched it overflowing, Certainly appreciate those few photos I took back then.

[@fixerupper3042]

Take current photos and compare them to your old ones.....Big difference.

[@jlms69]

Damn! My family and I moved to Phoenix in the summer of 1983. I was 14. We went around the state that summer. Hoover Dam was one of our stops. I remember it being at full capacity then. It was amazing! I no longer live in Phoenix, but I visit Arizona quite often. It never ceases to amaze me how some places and things have changed so much in 40 years. Cool video and pics. 😎 It brought some nostalgia to my old mind. I wish I’d have had a camera back then.

[@TheDesertSailor]

Thank you for not putting unlistenable music under this video. It is hearbreaking that the Water Reclammation Bureau is doing more in terms of water restrictions. Slow to act now and we will have dead pool in five years estimates predict.

[@FUL0H8]

So many emotions right now. Thanks for the trip back in time. Wonderful capture. Hope for rain.

[@AceSeptre]

Super cool. I'm always amazed at how good Super-8 film can look. Some of the stills you can barely tell the difference between the film and a modern smartphone.

[@masteroogway1586]

Its so cool how the old photos are so realistic under water

[@Kara_Kay_Eschel]

0:00 Is this a god dam? 0:55 That is a lot of dam water going over that dam spillway. 4:54 A dam shame. 5:00 Thanks for the dam footage and stills.

[@NutmegThumper]

This was great! I visited there twice in the 1990’s and never saw water like this. Glad to finally see these views.

[@wannabetowasabe]

I was there in June of 1983 as well. I took a trip from the eastern Sierra where I live to Flagstaff and then returned on the same route. On the way to Flagstaff we didn't have time to stop and see the flow, but when we returned we spent several hours at the dam to watch the spillways flowing. The noise was incredible. Meanwhile, upstream at Glen Canyon, the spillway was eroding into the dam due to cavitation and water over topping the dam or a spillway failure was possible. A disaster of epic type proportions was possible. Imagine Glen Canyon dam failing and Lake Powell suddenly flowing down the Grand Canyon and then into Lake Mead. It would have likely over topped Hoover Dam, the next one down north of Laughlin (Davis Lake or Dam?), then Parker Dam and every other structure all the way to the Gulf of California. The number of deaths and property damage would have been very high, especially from Laughlin south. I'm so glad to have been able to see this event. This was the year Lake Powell finally filled after the gates on the dam closed in 1963, so it was quite a year. We need a few similar years in a row like 1983 to get back up to acceptable surface and groundwater levels. 2016-2017 was just not a big enough year considering 6 or the last 7 years have been a drought in the Sierra Nevada and since about 2000 in the Colorado River watershed.

[@sk8sn0surf]

I am from the East Coast and went to Vegas for a business convention in 1994... took an extra day to be a tourist! I went to the dam and took the DAM TOUR! As far as water levels, I can remember the "white bleaching effect" showing about 5-6 feet below the water line..... and I remember thinking that That would be a cause for alarm …back then!? Thanks for sharing the video.

[@bigpicturethinking5620]

Thanks for the dam video. I hope you enjoyed your dam time and dam tour. I was not even one when you shot this dam video.

[@SolarSteveW]

Yeah, I've heard that people who go through the dam tour backwards come out mad.

[@billcoolgarcia]

Lol this is to dam funny 😂🤣

[@japbike736]

When I moved to Vegas in May of 97 the only way into Nevada the way we came in was over the dam. We stopped our moving truck on the hill overlooking the dam and walked down to check it out. It was spilling over into the overflow tunnels but not nearly at that rate. Great video...

[@jasoncampbell172]

Awesome video. I love remember going there when it was happening, very cool.

[@Vector_Ze]

June 1983. That's very close to the time I escaped from living in Las Vegas for three years. IIRC, Lake Mead was close to capacity for those years. At least, I don't recall of ever hearing about it being below level, like it is now (way low). In fact, in the time I was in Vegas, we had several bouts with street flooding. If I ever return to that horrible place, it will be too soon. But, Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam were a few of the more pleasant aspects of the time I lived there. Thank you very much for sharing!

[@notetoself5474]

Used to boat at Pierce Ferry, mouth of the Grand canyon in the late 70's when Pierce Ferry was on the lake. Now it's on the river.

[@kbates666]

Thanks for sharing this. My wife and I just visited the dam last month. Its crazy to see all the water in these videos and photos. Hopefully we can get there again.

[@russellking9762]

And now.....makes us all realise that what we all take for granted everyday is more precious than gold....may the Lord have mercy on us all

[@davidhilton5414]

Super cool thanks for sharing!! My uncle was an operator for water and power inside the dam. I remember being on a house boat July 1983 towing a ski boat. Lake was so high there was drift wood all over the lake. Today is such a horrific site.

[@rcpsammy7186]

I go to Vegas every year, and stop at the damn the day before coming home, and it is so shocking to see how low it is now.

[@RTD1947]

Love the home movies!!! Thanks for posting a scene we will not see again for a VERY long time

[@junior11793]

I'm 27 and as a kid I still remember the water was that high lol

[@judruhl603]

I found some stills that we took nearly the same time and they fit right into the video. My friend Darroll Luce and his sister were able to go down and touch the base of the dam just before the diversion dams were broken down and allowed to fill. I was a little kid when we went out to Overton and saw St Thomas buildings still sticking out of the water as it was filling. I remember feeling spooky about that. The last Nevada generator was being built when we toured there in 1949. Stator leaves were still being stacked as I remember it. My Dad pulled cable through the tunnels, my friend Willis was a scaler. They hung on rope swings down the sides of the canyon setting dynamite to break the rock back to solid rock.

[@FWtravels]

I was there last year and the water level is extremely low. Crazy to think the spillway was only used once!

[@RickZackExploreOffroad]

It's been used 3 times. 1941, 1983 and 1996-2000 www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/lakemead_line.pdf

[@tihspidtherekciltilc5469]

Top notch video and camera work for 1983 and even now. Thanks.

[@jay_wright]

Well here I am in 2021, Lake Mead is currently at 1,079.7 feet -- 136 feet below its 2002 level when the drought began. I live in Phoenix and am really wondering if it's time to move out.

[@mylesgray3470]

I just visited Vegas last month and was amazed by the lush landscaping. The certainty have room to reduce consumption, probably 50% worst case but so far no urgency to do so.

[@theseabass12483]

Wrong! Well maybe! I did not check much last week but I doubt it was because it is at 1,070.9 feet as of today 6-15-21 and 158 feet below max.

[@jay_wright]

@@theseabass12483 You can say I'm wrong but I'm getting that info from Google, and it updates daily..

[@chris432t6]

From 1983 to 1993 las Vegas experienced a huge population boom and the lake mead levels have only continued to decline since then. This video footage is the last time this event will ever be seen again unfortunately. Thank you for this video. From the sincity I call home.

[@danielchristian5541]

I was there that day! 11 yrs old. My Dad welded on the large angle iron pieces you see disrupting the flow over the spillway to reduce vibration.

[@CellaDragon]

I went there as a kid sometime in the 90s and I remember the flood ways over flowing hearing the rumbling of water and seeing it in person is something that stuck with me. Very sad to see it now

[@chrisblyseth3415]

We went there later in summer 1983. Looking down those spillway tunnels is unnerving. Super 8mm memories...

[@AeroModule]

Totally agree. First time I visited was in 2001 but for whatever reason didn't catch a glimpse of the spillways. Visited again in 2019 and saw them - absolutely terrifying, in fact. But fascinating too.

[@maisonavery]

This was so great to watch. I just loved all those cars getting wet and watching those people getting sprayed with the mist . I just visited yesterday Jan 2025! 42 years later! I’m only 25 but I was wondering what it looked like when it was full, or if the spillway has ever been used. I can’t believe it’s only been used once! what a site it would’ve been.

[@H.pylori]

So nice to actually see tje 1983 spillway flow. Read about it but never saw a movie showing it. I do not understand all of the crazy commentary below about overspill on the road....never happened. That is why they built the spillways. THANKS!

[@gmora66]

That guy was an obvious troll. "Me and several of my friends lived nearby and we saw the UFO." :D

[@MsLightbar]

Welcome to the Dam tour, take all the Dam pictures you like, ask all the Dam questions you want... Awesome and historic video, thanks for sharing.

[@andrewbeaudry4399]

I don't think we'll see these levels again

[@SolarSteveW]

Ah, never say never...

[@chadsimmons6347]

MAY 2019 Lake Mead will overflow for 7 days straight

[@dionmartin3218]

Being born and raised in Las Vegas, Id go to see this grand event 2 to 3 times a week simply because it was so amazing. What a fun way to escape the summer heat than to have Lake Mead rain down on you from the mist forced up by the power of the massive flow of water pouring off the top of the lake. i remember both spillways overflowing up to 4-5 and maybe 7 feet over the top and couldnt fathom all this water runoff this year. Seemed way more water during this time poured off the lake than what it would take to fill it 2 or 3 times over. If i lived in a gambling town(oh wait) even though its been decades since, if it was so easy in that one year to put that much snow on the western side of the Rockies, it will happen again. Now the bet is void if the government has their meddling fingers in weather manipulation which may be a safer bet why we are in a drought of this magnitude currently.

[@andrewbeaudry4399]

seems all of North America has had excessive rain. I live just east of Toronto, I've never seen lake Ontario cause so much flooding, and smaller lakes and rivers have record high water levels

[@mandatethis8024]

giggleherz those zany Californians ............

[@kristiedentice7030]

I was born and raised in Las Vegas and I remember, when we were on our way to Jerome Az. We stopped & checked out the over spill on the Az. Side. IT WAS AMAZING!!!! I also remember looking down into that huge dark water tunnel! I was 13 at the time. Wow! What great memories

[@anthonydonofrio1061]

I was there and have a dozen pictures, some of the same scenes that you captured. Love the super-8 film footage.

[@lancechinnian4043]

What a privilege to have visited and come away with such cool footage and photos!

[@thomasdaum1927]

Was there 6 - 5 - 21 , the lake was horribly low ! I doubt the overflow will ever be used again !

[@epistte]

They wish that they had this problem now.

[@ripul8r]

This was not the only time water went over the spillway with the gates up. I have lived here in Vegas since '85 and have seen this more than once. TY for posting this video, it is a rarity!!

[@SolarSteveW]

Thanks for your comment. Others have said something similar. Look below for a comment from "Final Authority" where I responded in detail. My conclusion is that water went over the gates and down the spillway in the late 1990s, but not with the gates fully raised as was the case here... perhaps only partially raised.

[@oldtwinsna8347]

Such a huge difference to today. Folks, help contribute to the effort of refilling the lake by taking a few extra bottled waters with you when visiting and pouring into the lake as a water donation.

[@englishruraldoggynerd]

Lovely old film footage, thank you for sharing your family movie! It’s fascinating, I don’t think it’s ever going to refill again.

[@danielmarek4609]

I remember being there when that happened. Part of the low level is caused by the amount of in flow but they are taking more out of the lake than they should be.

[@Adam-pm3zu]

Thank you so much for sharing this! There are so many excellent images in this video that people don’t get to see. Keep up the good work!

[@jhoman1661]

Las Vegas 1983: approx. 500.000 inhabitants today 2.700.000. So nowadays Lake Mead contains 3 times less fresh water than in 1983 but out of that is has to provide 5 times more people: “Houston we have a problem” !

[@AntranikMinassian]

Thank you for the AMAZING SUPER-8 movie. The lake is way down in 2022.

[@surferdude8086]

I was there in 85 and it was still full but obviously not like that. Good footage.

[@PBeringer]

Beautiful footage! Thanks for posting this treasure. No digital format will ever come close ... And in the year of my birth, no less. Ha.

[@EphemeralProductions]

This was one of the highest levels that lake mead has been at in recent history. It’s cool seeing the spillways being used!

[@chucksager4473]

this footage is nice to see, thanks for posting. I have lived in Vegas since 1980, and during the flooding in 83 I made several trips out to witness this. At the peak of the flooding on or around mid June there was 6 feet of water going over the top of the spillway. The mist cloud was amazing, and covered the entire dam area.

[@WayPastCrazy2525]

What a well-done video! Nostalgic, informative, and just a great presentation. Can't believe the water level today as compared to back then.

[@trojanfish5167]

thank you for tacking the time to up load this. it was a good one mate!

[@razony]

I had NO idea, looking over that ledge with the water going over the spill way 38 years ago. May never seen again!

[@robertcrawford4555]

I’m pretty sure it will never happen again

[@dethray1000]

you need to read bob moriaity's book,"Nobody Knows Anything"!! what is true today is not true tomorrow

[@robertcrawford4555]

@Joseph Frizzell are you serious or are joking

[@jay_wright]

@Joseph Frizzell Easy to answer, the southwest as a whole, has been suffering droughts, plenty of lakes in Cali are now running dry, Lake Mead in AZ/NV, Elephant Butte Lake in New Mexico. The summers are hotter and the winters aren't as cold. We DESPERATELY need one of those 100 year storms in the southwest to refill all the lakes. When people say global warming doesn't exist, they clearly don't live in the southwest. In Dubai they cloud seed and make it rain almost once a week. Why can't we do that here in the USA...

[@nigel900]

It’ll be ok…

[@milt6208]

I spent a lot of time at the dam in 1983. The roar of the water flowing into the spillways and the spray created was so cool.

[@fishmonger6879]

Why were you there?

[@itsruf1]

observation: I have taken a photo every year entering from AZ. Same spot on the switchbacks. The low level now is pretty sad.

[@1bkres]

Wish you could post photos

[@itsruf1]

@@1bkres I happened to be in town from IL the day the bypass opened. The 3am Vegas news reported it nonchalantly. As if "oh the bypass opened" BFD. I trailered my Polaris RZR up to Boulder, offloaded and went across illegally of course. Workers were removing final construction lumber and stuff. The downfall was that the walls are so tall I saw nothing of course! It was raining heavy. A rare morning indeed.

[@1bkres]

@@itsruf1 still so cool to think to take pics in same spot. Someone is smart 🤓

[@itsruf1]

@@1bkres It's actually the spot tourists hop out to take pictures. I also got rock over the years from the bypass construction job. Zillions of tons of the canyon were hauled out. Most was Rainbow Rock Trucking. . They hauled non stop for years. The long trucks are 22 tons usually. If you are in Vegas it was hard not to get deals. I'm in Central IL. At least 1000 tons is in my landscaping. Both the purple and pinkish All are jagged and will crack clean.

[@somewhereinoklahoma5574]

Wow, just wow. That is something to see. I can only imagine the 1983 curiosity of what the towers looked like down below. The 2022 curiosity is wondering what the lake looked like full. crazy to think how our world is changing.

[@ProG3rmanator]

Watching this footage and knowing the current state of the Dam is very depressing...

[@Christoph-sd3zi]

It's not depressing if you realize that tens of millions of people were never meant to live in a desert and that Mother Nature doesn't care about you feelings.

[@MRIPETCTSupportEngineer]

2022 is just different. Crazy times

[@timmayer8723]

I saw the spill way over flowing back then. Now the bath tub ring is about a hundred feet deep and the lake is within 2ft (above sea level) from declaring a water emergency water shortage

[@whatnow9288]

we might never see this again. 0:30 I remember driving down that road and looking ahead at a vast Mead waterbody which has shrunk now