КРУПНЕЙШЕЕ озеро Небраски обмелело до 22% — вода настолько УШЛА, что лодки ВЯЗНУТ в иле

Lake McConaughy, the largest reservoir in Nebraska, is 22% full and has lost more than 20 feet of water in twelve months, and on August 15, 2026 the state closed Spillway Bay, the last public boat ramp on the lake. This video is about where the water went, how close the lake is to the lowest level ever recorded, and the six-year fix that sits on the other side of the Colorado state line. Lake McConaughy sits behind Kingsley Dam on the North Platte River near Ogallala in Keith County, Nebraska, and is operated by the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District (CNPPID). The district's gauge read 3,201.0 feet, 385,100 acre-feet and 22.1% of capacity on September 14, 2026, against 3,221.7 feet a year earlier; the all-time low since the lake filled is about 3,197.6 feet, set in 2004. Winter 2025–26 brought the worst snowpack on record to the North Platte headwaters, inflows hit a record low in June, western Nebraska and Wyoming irrigators received a 50% supply on roughly 400,000 acres, and the irrigation season was compressed to July and August. Nebraska Game and Parks closed the last public ramp on August 15; Little Lake Alice went dry in June; private launch services began shutting down in September. Nebraska is building the $628 million Perkins County Canal to bring South Platte water from Colorado into Keith County under the 1923 South Platte River Compact, targeted for 2032. IN THIS VIDEO • The district's own numbers on the day, and how far the lake is from the record set in 2004 • What the state's closure notice tells boaters to do if they get stranded, and why • The month-by-month timeline from a record-low snowpack to a closed ramp • Why the water left: the acres, the megawatts and the two-month irrigation season • The last time the lake was this low, and what the photographs of the bed looked like then • The canal in Colorado that could refill it, what it costs, and when it delivers • The one number nobody has published: the elevation at which the ramp reopens SOURCES Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District (Lake/River Data, Sept 14, 2026; operating levels) · Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (via KRVN/WOWT) · Nebraska Public Media (Aug 31, 2026) · WOWT (Aug 17 and Aug 26, 2026) · KRVN / Rural Radio (Aug 17, 2026) · KNOP (June 9 and Aug 6, 2026) · University of Nebraska CropWatch (Apr 15, 2026) · Visit Keith County Outdoor Report (Sept 8, 2026) · U.S. Drought Monitor (Aug 11, 2026) · 1011 Now (Mar 3, 2026) · Lincoln Journal Star · The Colorado Sun (Jan 18, 2024) · Nebraska Department of Water, Energy and Environment · North Platte Telegraph (2004) · Nebraska Weather Photos (July 2006) · U.S. Census Bureau · Wikipedia (Kingsley Dam; Lake McConaughy) RELATED Lake McConaughy water level · Lake McConaughy 2026 · Big Mac Nebraska · Kingsley Dam · Lake McConaughy boat ramp closed · Nebraska drought 2026 · Perkins County Canal · North Platte River drought · Ogallala Nebraska lake This is a developing situation. Elevations are CNPPID figures at publication and change daily; the lake is expected to bottom out in mid-September. #LakeMcConaughy #Nebraska #BigMac #KingsleyDam #Drought #Ogallala #NorthPlatte #WaterCrisis #PerkinsCountyCanal #CrisisRadar