All articles tagged with #lake powell
Arizona, California and Nevada proposed voluntary cuts totaling 700,000–1,000,000 acre-feet through 2028 to bolster Lake Powell and Lake Mead, adding to earlier reductions for a total of over 3.2 million acre-feet through 2028. Framed as a bridge to buy time for longer-term negotiations and to avoid mandatory CAP cuts, the plan requires federal approval and signals openness to mediation with Upper Basin states.
California, Arizona and Nevada propose a two-year plan to cut more than 3.2 million acre-feet of Colorado River water through 2028, with Arizona taking the largest share (about 760,000 ac-ft per year, California 440,000 ac-ft, Nevada 50,000 ac-ft), as Lake Mead sits at 31% capacity and Lake Powell at 24% amid record-low snowpack, in a bid to stabilize the river while seven states continue talks on a longer-term deal.
In the drought-stricken Colorado River basin, officials plan to release more water into Lake Powell to boost hydroelectric generation. The move could improve Powell’s electrical output in the near term, but it trades increased power supply for reduced water deliveries or higher costs for downstream users in California, Nevada and the lower basin, underscoring the tough compromises of river management during continued drought.
With Lake Powell at about 36% of capacity amid record-low snowpack, the Trump administration announced an emergency plan to avert a power and water shortage on the Colorado River. It will release 660,000 to 1,000,000 acre-feet of water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir over the next year to lift Powell, while reducing Powell’s downstream releases by around 19% (about 1.5 million acre-feet) to push more water toward Lake Mead and downstream users in California, Arizona and Nevada. The move, a short-term fix under a 2019 drought agreement, aims to keep turbines turning and water supplies flowing as negotiations for longer-term cuts stall and drought conditions persist.
To avert a Powell failure amid a historic Colorado River drought, the federal government will move water from Flaming Gorge to raise Lake Powell and reduce releases to Lake Mead, aiming for a one-year pause while seven Western states negotiate longer-term water cuts; Powell is roughly 36% full and Mead about 32%, with major downstream impacts for California, Arizona and Nevada.
The Interior Department published five potential future management options for the drought-stricken Colorado River, ranging from action as usual to scenarios that could trigger water cuts for California, Nevada, and Arizona; no preferred option is identified, and any plan requires agreement among the seven basin states, with deadlines such as Feb. 14 for an agreement and Oct. 1 for a final decision. Public comment is open through early March as Lake Powell and Lake Mead sit at roughly 27% and 33% capacity.
Western states relying on the Colorado River face a tight deadline to reach a new water-sharing agreement by February 14, amid worsening drought conditions, declining reservoir levels, and disagreements over water cuts, with federal officials urging a compromise to prevent severe shortages and potential hydropower loss.
A man from Ohio, identified as Cory Ryan Ehrnschwender, died in a cliff-jumping accident at Lake Powell in Utah. Witnesses reported that he jumped off a 50-foot cliff and failed to resurface. After a search operation, his body was located and recovered by divers. The incident is being investigated, and authorities reminded people that jumping or diving off rock cliffs, ledges, or man-made structures from a height of 15 feet or more above the water is prohibited at Lake Powell.
Billions of gallons of water are being released from Lake Powell and dumped into waterways along the Grand Canyon to restore sandbars, beaches, and campsites used by visitors to the Grand Canyon. The release aims to restore the Colorado River corridor in eastern Grand Canyon National Park. The release will mimic the natural flow pattern of the Colorado River, which would typically occur each spring during the runoff of snowmelt. The experiment will not affect the total annual amount of water released from Lake Powell to Lake Mead for the 2023 water allotment.
Federal officials predict that Lake Powell's water levels could rise by 50 to 90 feet this spring and summer, with the most probable scenario being a 65-foot increase by June. The increase comes as the National Weather Service's Colorado Basin River Forecast Center projects that 1.3 million acre-feet worth of water will flow toward Lake Powell over the next few months. The lake would remain about 110 to 126.5 feet below full-pool status in the probable scenario, but it would also place the reservoir between 80 and 100 feet above the minimum pool level needed to generate power. The Bureau of Reclamation also approved a four-day controlled release from the Glen Canyon Dam to move sediment in the Paria River onto the beaches and sandbars in Marble Canyon and the eastern Grand Canyon.
The US Bureau of Reclamation has begun a High Flow Experiment (HFE) by releasing 39,500 cubic feet per second of water from Lake Powell to restore sandbars and beaches in the Grand Canyon and move sediment downriver to Nevada's Lake Mead. The HFE will last for 72 hours and is expected to peak on Wednesday morning before subsiding back to normal flow on Saturday. Lake Mead is projected to rise 33 feet higher than expected this year due to snowpack levels in the Upper Colorado River Basin.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has begun a High Flow Experiment (HFE) by releasing 39,500 cubic feet per second of water from Lake Powell through the Glen Canyon Dam for 72 hours, which will eventually end up in Lake Mead. The experiment is designed to restore sandbars and beaches while moving sediment downriver to improve the Colorado River corridor in eastern Grand Canyon National Park. Lake Mead is projected to rise 33 feet higher than expected this year because of snowpack levels in the Upper Colorado River Basin.