Even Less water forecast to flow into Lake Powell this year, report says May NOAA runoff report predicts even less water will flow into Lake Powell this year than previously forecasted. 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. "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. Precipitation was better, but still slightly below normal in the Upper Colorado River Basin. By Leia Larsen. Our editorial policy and donor list can be viewed atwateredco.org. Note that projections of elevation and storage for water year 2023 have significant uncertainty at this point in the season. In the main body of Lake Powell, water pooled along its eastern edge, while large expanses of dry canyon floor were visible in the west. Gas Prices on Lake google_ad_type = "text_image"; https://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/news-release/4294, https://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/#/news-release/4196, USGS site #09180500 - Colorado River near Cisco, UT, USGS site #09315000 - Green River at Green River, UT, USGS site #09379500 - San Juan River near Bluff, UT, USGS site #09380000 - Colorado River at Lees Ferry, AZ, Snowpack Conditions Upper Colorado Region Above Lake Powell, Lake Powell Inflow Forecast April-July Inflow Forecast, Current Water Year Inflow Forecast Monthly Outlooks, Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program, LTEMP - Long-Term Experimental & Management Plan, Report to Congress - Operations of Glen Canyon Dam - Water Year 2015-2016, National Park Service Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, National Park Service Grand Canyon National Park, U.S. Hydrologists recently updated the model that forecasts the level of Lake Powell. Committee on the Scientific Bases of Colorado River Basin Water Management, National Research Council. Snow levels will fall to the lowest locations Wednesday night into Thursday morning, before the storm exits eastern Arizona Thursday afternoon. google_ad_channel ="2397569894"; At the same time, electric utilities across the West are looking for other green options and hoping that hydropower production wont stop altogether. By, What We Know, And What You Can Do To Help. Projections of end of water year 2023 elevation using the February minimum and January maximum inflow forecast results are 3,544.04 feet and 3,582.24 feet, respectively. The February forecast for water year 2023 ranges from a minimum probable of 8.37 maf (87 percent of average) to a January forecasted maximum probable of 14.93 maf (155 percent of average) with the most probable forecast for water year 2023 of 10.44 maf (109 percent of average). Cheap sewer pipe repairs can push toxic fumes into homes and schools heres Hard water: In these metro neighborhoods, few drink the tap water. The January 2023 24-Month Study probable maximum and the February 2023 24-Month Study probable minimum inflow scenarios were used to determine the range of probable outcomes. Water levels in Narrow Canyon had dropped enough to show canyon floor features not visible in earlier images. The period 2000-2022 is the lowest 23-year period since the closure of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, with an average unregulated inflow of 8.29 maf, or 93 percent of the 30-year average (1991-2020). More by Chris Outcalt, Got a story tip? Click for Details, Current Snowpack Conditions for Upper Colorado Basin. 159 0 obj <> endobj Water levels in Lake Powell dropped to a new record low on Tuesday. The declines were first apparent in the side canyons feeding the reservoir which thinned and then shortened. This is a decrease of 3.33 maf over the total storage at the beginning of water year 2022 when total system storage was 22.87 maf (39 percent of capacity). 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. Detailed Map of Powell If you have feedback on content, format, or publication frequency, please contact us. As a news piece, this article cites verifiable, third-party sources which have all been thoroughly fact-checked and deemed credible by the Newsroom in accordance with the Civil Constitution. google_color_border = "FFFFFF"; 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. Glen Canyon Dam currently maintains 30 mw (approximately 800 cfs) of generation capacity in reserve in order to respond to a system emergency even when generation rates are already high. The Colorado Sun is a journalist-owned, award-winning news outlet based in Denver that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state our community can better understand itself. 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. Lake Powell is currently 390.33 feet deep at the dam. Fish & Wildlife Service Endangered Species Success Stories. It can store about five times the average annual flow. 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). 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. 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. google_ad_format = "160x600_as"; google_ad_client = "pub-0146338466817273"; That spring runoff is critical to irrigated agriculture, domestic water supplies, and the recreation industry in Colorado and the West. From there, a swing to the northeast delivers boats into Lake Powell's main artery. Across most of the streams and rivers of the Upper Basin, forecasted runoff ranges from very poor (50% of average) to mediocre (80% of average).. The unregulated inflow volume to Lake Powell during January was 361 thousand acre-feet (kaf) (107 percent of average). google_color_url = "426C95"; "These reservoirs are huge," Lund said. Another 480 kaf will be left in Lake Powell by reducing Glen Canyon Dams annual release volume from 7.48 maf to 7.0 maf, as outlined in the 2007 Interim Guidelines that control operations of Glen Canyon Dam and Hoover Dam. endstream endobj startxref google_ad_type = "text_image"; . (2019-2021) AND my own personal prediction of 2022 based on p. KNAUs Melissa Sevigny reports. The system is appreciated for the water it supplies, but criticized for the environmental problems and cultural losses that have resulted from its creation. "Its always good to plan for the worst, right? While the lake was significantly higher in 2011 and 2012 than in 2005, a careful comparison of the side canyons reveals that the level was still not back to 1999 levels, when the lake was near full capacity. Shifting the period of record decreased the average unregulated inflow 1.20 maf. The lake is set to reach. These projections are critical for planning for an increasingly dry future in the Colorado River Basin, but a new paper from Utah State University says the model may still underestimate the risk. Last week, the Bureau of Reclamation announced extraordinary action to keep the water level at Powell from dropping too low, which could threaten hydropower production at Powells Glen Canyon Dam. There are continued discussions when and how that same amount of water (0.523 maf) will be . 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! This level is actually .02 feet . Printable Version Gas Prices on Lake Detailed Map of Powell 15 Day Weather Forecast The peak inflow to Lake Powell occurs in mid- to late spring, as the winter snow in the Rocky Mountains melts. Antelope Point Marina on Feb. 3, 2022, in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area near Page. Even in low emission climate scenarios (forecasts that are based on the assumption that future carbon dioxide emissions will increase relatively slowly), models predict precipitation may decline by 20-25 percent over most of California, southern Nevada, and Arizona by the end of this century. 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/. Despite those releases, Powell dropped below 3,525 last month, hitting 3,523, another historic drought landmark. (Due to the angle of sunlight, this image may cause an optical illusion known as relief inversion.). 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. average basin temperatures and precipitation for the forecast period. 15 Day Weather Forecast SW Satellite Weather SW Water Vapor Lake Powell is down 6.18 feet from one year ago. But a long-term drying trend began in the year 2000. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Wind affected on the west and south facing aspects of the Gore Range seen on, April 7, 2022, near Vail. At the west end of Narrow Canyon, the Dirty Devil River joins the lake from the north. Lake Powells water levels plummeted in early 2005, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation. That projection is about 12 feet higher than the 2023 end-of-year mark in the bureau's forecast from December. This is the big warning bell.. The sediment-filled Colorado River appeared green-brown. 192 0 obj <>stream google_color_link = "0000FF"; For five years after 2012, snow- and rainfall totals were generally low, as the region suffered through a persistent, long-term drought. System emergencies occur fairly infrequently and typically require small responses from Glen Canyon Dam. Get the most up to date information on Lake Powell's water levels and the status of launch ramps from the Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, and more with the links and pages below. //2006-10-04: news Official Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Changing Lake Levels Info. 04:18 . Were going to be generating less than we have in quite some time. The reduction of releases from Lake Powell from 7.48 maf to 7.00 maf in water year 2022 resulted in a reduced release volume of 0.480 maf that normally would have been released from Glen Canyon Dam to Lake Mead as part of the 7.48 maf annual release volume, consistent with operations under the 2007 Interim Guidelines. U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation. The March 2023 releases are anticipated to fluctuate between a low of 5,276 cfs to a high of 9,641 cfs. But the 30-year period is the standard reference worldwide and captures more variability, according to Paul Miller of the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center. She grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where she fell in love with the ecology and geology of the Sonoran desert. Jerd Smith is editor of Fresh Water News. :pNB/gb2D0p6Ecb :qD_q7wE42TOOSW:Oa^(-]p7y|iZ.8uq:}1y3bJ]!G ) ytRdJp2 +[|}QpEU}V'k{yeKud"xl_-x lJ!UZ`,n!\3{dcb 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. Climate change also plays a part. At the beginning of the series in 1999, water levels in Lake Powell were relatively high, and the water was a clear, dark blue. 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. Last Reading: 3522.33 on Feb 12, 2023. In order to restore Lake Powell's levels, one expert said people must conserve water in the Colorado River's lower basin. Lake Powell water level at Wahweap Marina in September 2021 | Photo by Bureau of Reclamation, St. George News . The nation's second-largest reservoir is under pressure from climate change and steady demand, and is now . Upper Colorado River Basin regularly experiences significant year to year hydrologic variability. The draft plan is expected to be released next week, according to Becki Bryant, a spokeswoman for Reclamations Upper Colorado River Region. Lake Powell, Printable Version Under system normal conditions, fluctuations for regulation are typically short lived and generally balance out over the hour with minimal or no noticeable impacts on downstream river flow conditions. (At normal water levels, both rivers are essentially part of the reservoir.) The probable minimum and probable maximum model runs are conducted simultaneously in January, April, August, and October, or when necessary to incorporate changing conditions. Reclamation will continue to carefully monitor hydrologic and operational conditions and assess the need for additional responsive actions and/or changes to operations. For additional information, the news release can be found here: https://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/news-release/4294. Electricity produced at Lake Powells Glen Canyon Dam, which serves some 50 Colorado utilities, and dozens of others in the Colorado River Basin, has been cut in half by the 20-year drought, with power levels over the next two years projected to be 47% lower than normal, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Click for Details, Current Snowpack Conditions for Upper Colorado Basin. The forecast for water year 2023 unregulated inflow to Lake Powell, issued on January 5, 2023, by the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, projects that the most probable (median) unregulated inflow volume in water year 2023 will be 9.5 maf (99 percent of average). hb```)," google_ad_channel ="2397569894"; 0.523 maf in Lake Powell from December 2022 through April 2023. 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. google_color_url = "426C95"; Across the region, water utilities are in high-alert mode, preparing for another dry year on the Colorado River and holding hope that the Upper Basin reservoirs can be protected as long as possible from large-scale drought releases. The 30-year average was updated in October 2022 from 1981 through 2010 to 1991 through 2020. In July 2021, water levels on the lake fell to the lowest point since 1969 and have continued dropping. Credit: Alex Hager. An initiative of the Center for Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder. The deep, narrow, meandering reservoir extends upstream into southern Utah. But it is concerning. Lake Powell is now at a historic low. 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