Why is the Hoover Dam an important development for water reclamation?

The Hoover Dam stores the irregular flows from the Colorado in a reservoir (Lake Mead) which can provide a consistent source of water to cities in southern Nevada. Cities like Las Vegas which could not develop into what they are without it. Many people would regard this as reclamation, though this term is kind of out of date, as the ecological value of water is recently becoming a more recognized issue. As opposed to the water in the Colorado being "wasted" as it flows into the ocean, it can be used to provide people in rapidly expanding desert communities with water. The Hoover dam was semi monumental in that it was the first major water reclamation project in the country. Based on its "success" many other projects along the Colorado could were built to try and harness as much of the water in the River. In recent years a lot of problems have arisen in the Colorado basin as more people have rights to water in it than the river can provide.