The nation's second-largest reservoir is under pressure from climate change and steady demand, and is now . Previous forecasts showed this was possible and the Bureau of Reclamation announced on March 4 that a . :pNB/gb2D0p6Ecb :qD_q7wE42TOOSW:Oa^(-]p7y|iZ.8uq:}1y3bJ]!G ) ytRdJp2 +[|}QpEU}V'k{yeKud"xl_-x lJ!UZ`,n!\3{dcb View CFS Last 14 Measurements Lake Powell is down -1.03 feet over these measurements Averages for February 27th Last 10 February 27th's data records In the early 21st century, this modern marvel of engineering faced an ancient enemy: prolonged drought in the American Southwest. Her work has appeared nationally on NPR and been featured on Science Friday. "These reservoirs are huge," Lund said. endstream endobj startxref The sediment-filled Colorado River appeared green-brown. Becky Mitchell is director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the states lead water planning agency. The end of January elevation and storage of Lake Powell were 3,523.45 feet (177 feet from full pool) and 5.45 million acre-feet (maf) (23 percent of live capacity), respectively. Utahs Flaming Gorge, Colorados Blue Mesa and New Mexicos Navajo. (2019-2021) AND my own personal prediction of 2022 based on p. 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). The 30-year average was updated in October 2022 from 1981 through 2010 to 1991 through 2020. By 2002, the lake level had dropped far enough that the exposed canyon walls created a pale outline around the lake. Click below for water level and accessibity updates about the launch ramps and services near you. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun), How Denver is spending the $41M from the Broncos sale, (720) 263-2338 Call, text, Signal or WhatsApp, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. Note that projections of elevation and storage for water year 2023 have significant uncertainty at this point in the season. To view the current inflow forecast relative to past inflows, click on Lake Powell Inflow Forecast. 192 0 obj <>stream The grim forecast comes as water officials race to bolster Lake Powell's water levels. Water supply forecasts take into consideration present hydrometeorological conditions and use The peak inflow to Lake Powell occurs in mid- to late spring, as the winter snow in the Rocky Mountains melts. At the same time, electric utilities across the West are looking for other green options and hoping that hydropower production wont stop altogether. Some Arizona cities have implemented drought management plans to conserve water, but the area continues to use water at a rate that negates Lake Powell's recovery. Much of that water. An initiative of the Center for Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder. monthly forecasts become more accurate. KNAUs Melissa Sevigny reports. Today is day 151 of 365 for the Water Year 2023. On Tuesday, the lake fell below 3,525 feet above sea level, a key target elevation that water managers have been trying to keep Powell above because it provides a buffer from the minimum level at which Glen Canyon Dam can generate power. The unregulated inflow volume to Lake Powell during January was 361 thousand acre-feet (kaf) (107 percent of average). Encompassing all or parts of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. Graphical view of Lake Powell water data. Last Reading: 3521.11 on Feb 27, 2023 Powell was last within 2" of this elevation on Feb 26, 2023 There are currently 1,734,731,016,499 gallons of water in Lake Powell! About 40 million people rely on the Colorado River for domestic use and farmers and ranchers use water from the river to irrigate more than 3 million acres of farmland. These long-term projections help water managers plan for future shortages, which are increasingly likely in the Colorado River Basin, in part because of warmer temperatures brought on by global climate change. Reclamation will continue to carefully monitor hydrologic and operational conditions and assess the need for additional responsive actions and/or changes to operations. %%EOF Based on current inflow forecasts, the current projected end of water year 2023 total Colorado Basin reservoir storage is approximately 20.93 maf (36 percent of total system capacity). Last July, to protect the 3,525 buffer zone, Reclamation ordered emergency water releases from three reservoirs in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The amount of water predicted to flow into Lake Powell this year is down slightly from the previous month, according to the May report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Colorado Basin River Forecast Center. The deep, narrow, meandering reservoir extends upstream into southern Utah. 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. Cheap sewer pipe repairs can push toxic fumes into homes and schools heres Hard water: In these metro neighborhoods, few drink the tap water. 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. Lake Powell is so low that it is nearing a dead pool, in which water levels aren't high enough to deliver water downstream. In July 2022, the lake reached a historic low of 1,040 feet above sea level. Surface Water Elevation (feet) Lake Powell End of Month Elevations1 . The probable minimum and probable maximum model runs are conducted simultaneously in January, April, August, and October, or when necessary to incorporate changing conditions. Lake Powell has several launch ramps along its 186-mile length. Its better than last year, but well just have to see what the next two to four weeks holds for precipitation.. Though the 2022 forecast isnt expected to be finalized until later this month, water officials expect that more water will have to be released from Upper Basin storage reservoirs this summer because inflows into the lake from the drought-stressed Colorado River are expected to be well below average again, in the 60% to 80% range. Jian Wang of Utahs Center for Colorado River Studies says that means the projections may be too optimistic. %PDF-1.7 % Water managers, who . hb```)," The August 2022 24-Month Study modeled 2023 and 2024 operations at Lakes Powell and Mead as if the 0.480 maf had been delivered to Lake Mead for operating tier/condition purposes both for the U.S. Lower Basin and for Mexico. GCC is the official nonprofit partner of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area & Rainbow Bridge National Monument. google_ad_width = 160; The most recent data is from Monday, February 27th, 2023. This is the big warning bell.. endstream endobj 160 0 obj <>/Metadata 41 0 R/Pages 157 0 R/StructTreeRoot 59 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences 177 0 R>> endobj 161 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 792 612]/Parent 157 0 R/Resources<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 162 0 obj <>stream A visual history of the water level of each of our Lake Powell trips over the past three years. With low-runoff conditions and . 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. 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. Close Become a member Login My Account Logout Search for:Search News Education Health Coloradans Equity Sun Investigation Crime and Courts Culture Sports SW Water Vapor, Accessibility of Launch Ramps, Primitive Launches and Other Sites 0.523 maf in Lake Powell from December 2022 through April 2023. For additional information, see the following news release: https://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/#/news-release/4196. Were an initiative of theCenter for Environmental Journalismat the University of Colorado Boulder. We maintain a strict editorial firewall between our funders and our journalism. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. (At normal water levels, both rivers are essentially part of the reservoir.) In the latter half of the decade, the drought eased somewhat. The annual release volume from Lake Powell during water year 2023 will be 7.77 maf under the Lower Elevation Balancing Tier and will balance the contents between Powell and Mead with annual release volumes from Glen Canyon Dam between 7.00 maf and 9.50 maf as determined under Section 6.D.1 and 7.D of the Interim Guidelines as determined by the Department of the Interior as described above. Antelope Point Marina on Feb. 3, 2022, in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area near Page. Were going to be generating less than we have in quite some time. "As a result of this update, the median water year 2022 inflow forecast into Lake Powell decreased by 800,000 acre-feet," USBR stated in a press release distributed Thursday. Last Reading: 3522.33 on Feb 12, 2023. The last couple months have steadied out a little bit, Cody Moser, a senior hydrologist with NOAA forecast center, said during a recent web briefing to review the most recent report. Among the dams on the Colorado is Arizonas Glen Canyon Dam, which creates Lake Powell. DATE MEASURED ELEVATION CHANGE CONTENT INFLOW OUTFLOW HIGH TEMP LOW TEMP WATER TEMP . In water year 2021 unregulated inflow volume to Lake Powell was 3.50 maf (36 percent of average), the second driest year on record above 2002. Back then, Hannegan said, We made an assumption that our WAPA (Western Area Power Administration) allocation would be firm, reliable and always there. Climate change also plays a part. At the beginning of water year 2023, total system storage in the Colorado River Basin was 19.54 maf (33 percent of 58.48 maf total system capacity). Please contact the Operations Group via e-mail at [email protected] for additional information. Reclamation will continue to consult with the Basin States, Basin Tribes, the Republic of Mexico and other partners on Colorado River operations to consider and determine whether additional measures should be taken to further enhance the preservation of these benefits, as well as recovery protocols, including those of future protective measures for both Lakes Powell and Mead. She can be reached at 720-398-6474, via email [email protected] @jerd_smith. Fresh Water News is an independent, non-partisan news initiative of Water Education Colorado. In order to restore Lake Powell's levels, one expert said people must conserve water in the Colorado River's lower basin. Snow levels will fall to the lowest locations Wednesday night into Thursday morning, before the storm exits eastern Arizona Thursday afternoon. His freelance We have to take a strong look at what we will do in the unlikely event that Lake Powell stops producing hydropower, said WAPAs Meiman. Sunday, February 26, 2023 12:00:00 AM Level is 178.87 feet The unregulated inflow during the 2000-2022 period has ranged from a low of 2.64 maf (28 percent of average) in water year 2002 to a high of 15.97 maf (166 percent of average) in water year 2011. Water Data for 20 days surrounding Feb 28, 2022. @) .=] j Bvq2 4=B4[YCO@p/e`5[ #("A3?M|Cd(Jje(B_il:.\7m=.{CZ&&q5O}NOB6jGptUEN1Dh'6dW30oLqmt1W#F/qy<5aJ5 LuQmB(JD'4z`9q#v k[ T 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. The lake held just 30 percent of its capacity. 04:18 . View our Current Membership Thank You Gifts, KNAU News Talk - Arizona Public Radio | Credit: Alex Hager. 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! 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