Lake Powell has several launch ramps along its 186-mile length. The peak inflow to Lake Powell occurs in mid- to late spring, as the winter snow in the Rocky Mountains melts. View our Current Membership Thank You Gifts, KNAU News Talk - Arizona Public Radio | Lake Powell is currently 390.33 feet deep at the dam. Scientists say the current drought is the driest on record in the last twelve hundred years. Together with the release of more water into Lake Powell from an upstream dam, the decision will keep the lake at a level at which it can continue generating hydropower for the next 12 months. SW Water Vapor, Accessibility of Launch Ramps, Primitive Launches and Other Sites Both Moser and Lukas said that dry soil moisture conditions across the Colorado River Basin, which can sponge off valuable runoff before the water makes it into rivers and streams, wont be quite as bad as last year but will still be a negative factor. Because the 2022 operations were designed to protect critical elevations at Lake Powell, Reclamation will implement Lower Elevation Balancing Tier operations in a way that continues to protect these critical elevations, or preserves the benefits of the 2022 operations to protect Lake Powell, in water year 2023. The grim forecast comes as water officials race to bolster Lake Powells water levels. The 30-year average was updated in October 2022 from 1981 through 2010 to 1991 through 2020. U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation. At the same time, power producers are gearing up to craft a fallback plan for extending hydropower production at Glen Canyon Dam if water levels continue to fall. "We might get lucky with the weather, but the idea of the system recovering is really hard unless you reduce water use in that basin," Lund told Newsweek. 0.523 maf in Lake Powell from December 2022 through April 2023. By 2002, the lake level had dropped far enough that the exposed canyon walls created a pale outline around the lake. The nation's second-largest reservoir is under pressure from climate change and steady demand, and is now . Chris Outcalt covers Western water issues for The Colorado Sun. Shortages have been implemented by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in areas like Arizona as water levels in the reservoir have consistently dropped for the past 10 years. He also was an associate editor at 5280 and a reporter for the Vail Daily. However, the Bureau of Reclamation's 24-month forecast that was just released at the end of last week projects Lake Mead to be at 1,041.10 feet in January 2023. google_ad_format = "160x600_as"; There is approximately an 80 percent probability that a future elevation will fall inside the range of the minimum and maximum inflow scenarios. The system is appreciated for the water it supplies, but criticized for the environmental problems and cultural losses that have resulted from its creation. According to the Bureau of Reclamation's website (on March 22, 2022), Lake The elevations listed in the August 2022 24-Month Study report reflected the projected physical elevations at each reservoir after implementing operations as described for water year 2023 tier determination purposes. But generally below-normal precipitation the last several months after a very wet December.. The basin states, in a response letter, expressed concern that the water level of Lake Powell would decline below critical elevations, making the dam inoperable. The probable minimum and probable maximum model runs are conducted simultaneously in January, April, August, and October, or when necessary to incorporate changing conditions. It will be among the lowest years of generation ever, said Nick Williams, power manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamations Upper Colorado River Region in an interview last week. Late last fall WAPA, which operates the electric grid and distributes the power to utilities, raised rates 30% to cover reductions in power revenue. Much of that water. On April 8, Reclamation announced it would likely keep more water in Lake Powell, reducing releases from the planned 7.5 million acre-feet to 7 million acre-feet, a move that could trigger emergency water cutbacks in Arizona, California and Nevada. Powell was last within 2" of this elevation on Feb 11, 2023 There are currently 1,757,155,460,140 gallons of water in Lake Powell! Lake Powell Water Supply Outlook, February 1, 2022 Note: This publication is scheduled for revision. Water managers, who . Under the current most probable forecast, the total water year 2023 unregulated inflow to Lake Powell is projected to be 10.44 maf (109 percent of average). Telling stories that matter in a dynamic, evolving state. Lake Powell is now at a historic low. Lake Powells water levels plummeted in early 2005, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation. The Water Desks mission isto increase the volume, depth and power of journalismconnected to Western water issues. Cheap sewer pipe repairs can push toxic fumes into homes and schools heres Hard water: In these metro neighborhoods, few drink the tap water. google_color_url = "426C95"; This is the big warning bell.. google_color_text = "000000"; For more information on the tools we use, consult, Upper Colorado Mainstem Specific Site Forecasts. google_color_border = "FFFFFF"; She reported that, as of March 16, 2022, Lake Powell was at an elevation of 3,524.83 feet (ft.) with storage of 5.916 million acre-feet (maf) or 24 percent of capacity. But the declining water already has drained some of the fun, he said. In the latter half of the decade, the drought eased somewhat. The Colorado River cuts through dry land that was once covered by Lake Powell on September 7, 2022, near Hite, Utah. Learn more at, Photos: Heron Lake, New Mexico, August 2022, Data viz: Elephant Butte Reservoir levels, to increase the volume, depth and power of journalism, https://www.watereducationcolorado.org/fresh-water-news/, www.watereducationcolorado.org/fresh-water-news/. Lake Mead's water levels . The modeling approach for WY 2023 will apply to 2024. From there, a swing to the northeast delivers boats into Lake Powell's main artery. "I would be reluctant to limit it to years just since 2000, because I think there is some value in acknowledging the variability that goes on in our basin," he says. Lund said that throughout the reservoir's history, it has refilled to its original levels just once. Using the approach described in the immediately preceding paragraph, the August 2022 24-Month Study projected the January 1, 2023, Lake Powell elevation to be less than 3,525 feet. The sediment-filled Colorado River appeared green-brown. Depending on the severity of the system emergency, the response from Glen Canyon Dam can be significant, within the full range of the operating capacity of the power plant for as long as is necessary to maintain balance in the transmission system. Antelope Point Launch Ramp Bullfrog Main Launch Ramp Winter Storm Warnings are in effect for elevations above 4000.Heavy accumulations of 10-20 are forecast above 6000, 3-8 to 4500 and several inches to valley floors. It took decades for Lake Powell to reach catastrophically low levels, and according to one expert, it'll take a long time to restore the levels, too. Please contact the Operations Group via e-mail at [email protected] for additional information. google_ad_type = "text_image"; As of Tuesday, February 28th, 2023 where elevation was 3521.04', Copyright Summit Technologies, Inc.1999 - 2023Site Views Today: 0Page Views Today: 0, The 28 tracked reservoirs above Lake Powell are currently at 58.69% of capacity. Reclamation will also ensure all appropriate consultation with Basin Tribes, the Republic of Mexico, other federal agencies, water users and non-governmental organizations with respect to implementation of these monthly and annual operations. The water level in Lake Powell was at a record low when rain and snow began to fall across the Colorado River Basin in October, soaking dry soils ahead of the winter season. In the early 21st century, this modern marvel of engineering faced an ancient enemy: prolonged drought in the American Southwest. Click for . In addition to the February 2023 24-Month Study based on the Most Probable inflow scenario, and in accordance with the Drought Response Operational Agreement (DROA)), Reclamation has conducted model runs in February to determine a possible range of reservoir elevations. Among the dams on the Colorado is Arizona's Glen Canyon Dam, which creates Lake Powell. The picture was much different 59 years ago, when the giant storage reservoir on the Colorado River was filling, its electricity helping power the West and the revenue from its power sales helping fund endangered fish protection programs across the Colorado River Basin. 2022, a day after Southern California delared a water . As of September 20, 2021, the water elevation at Glen Canyon Dam was 3,546.93 feet, more than 153 feet below "full pool" (elevation 3,700 feet). Lake Powell