Water levels in Lake Powell dropped to a record low at only 22% full.
Water levels in Lake Powell dropped to a record low Tuesday, with continued pressure from climate change and steady demand pushing the nation’s second-largest reservoir to the lowest level since it was first filled in the 1960s.
Lake Powell, which straddles the Arizona-Utah border, is fed by the Colorado River. Warming temperatures and abnormally dry conditions have cut into the river’s supplies, and the seven states that rely on its water have struggled to reduce demand. Not only has that dealt an alarming blow to the reliability of water supplies for 40 million people, but it threatens the ability to generate hydropower at Glen Canyon Dam, which holds back Lake Powell.
At minimum power pool, water would drop below the intakes that pull water into hydroelectric turbines, allowing air pockets to enter the equipment. That could create tiny bursts of air, part of a process called “cavitation,” and damage the turbines. “I think decision makers are trying so hard to prop up Lake Powell because they’re really afraid of the infrastructure problems at the dam when it operates below power pool,” Balken said. “And I don’t think it’s necessarily all about hydropower. I think the dam’s ability to actually release water at low levels is problematic enough that they want to avoid it at all costs.”
With those threats looming, the federal government began a process to cut water releases from Lake Powell in 2023 and 2024. As it considers a supplemental environmental impact statement to codify those reductions, Reclamation asked the seven states that use the river’s water for suggestions on how to spread the pain of cutbacks.
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