Lake Mead's decline is not happening in isolation, but is the result of a two-decade drought hitting the western U.S. and causing critical water shortages on the Colorado River. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Contact reporter Tony Davis at
[email protected] or 806-7746. The lake avoided serious problems during the drought because, in 1999, it was almost full. Having a reliable Lake Powell to back up Lake Mead is crucial especially during a period of uncertainty, Lower Basin users say. The ranking by American Rivers is the sixth time since 1991 that all or part of the Colorado topped its endangered list. This cookie is set by Facebook to display advertisements when either on Facebook or on a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising, after visiting the website. The U.S. Department of the Interior is considering a plan to keep extra water in Lake Powell. Meanwhile, Lake Powells projected decline in 2021 recently triggered the Upper Basin plan to be used for the first time. The Department of the Interior had asked the seven states of the Colorado River Compact to come up with a plan to cut between 2 and 4 million acre-feet of water by January. The fact that they're becoming involved in this manner points to real concerns that they must have and they must view the situation as one of extreme difficulty that requires them to act more directly. Newsweek previously reported that Lake Mead's dead pool level is 895 feet, while Lake Powell's is 3,370. Levels on Lake Powell, which stores water for the. As the drought continues and global warming evaporates water supplying the reservoirs, each reservoir isn't far from dead pool, which is when the water level is too low to flow downstream or power the turbines that provide hydroelectric power. Issued by Microsoft's ASP.NET Application, this cookie stores session data during a user's website visit. Work on the dam that created Lake Powell began in 1956 and was finished in 1966. Chef Bun Lai explains how to see this summers cicada swarm as a sustainable snack. The reality is that it's probably too little, too late.. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Water managers across the region are on the clock to come up with new rules for how to share Colorado River water before 2026, when the current guidelines expire. The repercussions of a draining water supply are immense -- farms are drying up, a once-thriving marina now sits more than a mile from lake water and Arizona's Department of Water Resources is . Okay. LUKE RUNYON: Well, this is kind of a narrative or storyline in the basin that has gotten a lot more attention recently, is how have tribal users been excluded from agreements in the past? "We can make up energy through fossil fuels, but if we fall short on water, we have to restrict supply because there are little to no replacements," he said. They are trying to negotiate a three-state deal that would reduce water deliveries even further, he said. In the desert of California lies another manmade lake condemned to death, the Salton Sea. And thats because some of these past agreements have put that state in the most vulnerable position for cutbacks. But a new study warns that the lake could virtually dry up in as few as six years if the region gets a repeat of the dry spell it experienced from 2000 to 2005. During the 2000-2005 drought, Lake Powell lost 13 million acre-feet of water and dropped almost 100 feet. There is also 29 federally-recognized tribes in the basin, of which 10 of those tribes hold a significant amount of water rights from the river. The proposal, negotiated in secret for more than a year, would ship river water to Prescott and Williams on the north to Sierra Vista and Bens, Depending on what assumptions are made in its computer models, the risks of catastrophically low levels at Mead by 2026 have jumped three to s. The basin is made up of portions of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. But even some creosote is dying, unable to take the one-two punch of both the hottest and driest conditions on record last year in parts of Arizona. Depending on how you define "dry up." It's doubtful that all 1,450 miles of the Colorado River will turn to dust, even if we drain Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the nation's two largest. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. If Lake Powell recedes much further, one of the nation's largest reservoirs could be at risk of no longer generating hydropower for the region. We're most likely witnessing the end of this reservoir. In addition, the river itself experiences more evaporation. And that sponge is very dry right now, and its sucking up all of that water before it can be used as water supply. Used to help protect the website against Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks. If the water levels drop to levels below the intake pipes, the water flow will cease to turn the hydroelectric turbines, and the dam won't generate any power. But there is still this fundamental supply-demand imbalance in the Colorado River basin. That includes releases of water upstream of Lake Powell, and voluntary cuts in Powells downstream neighbor, Lake Mead. Hes also been a long-time guest host on Science Friday. The second largest reservoir in the U.S. by total capacity after Lake Mead, Lake Powell spans the Utah/Arizona border, and is an artificial lake created from damming the Colorado River. I havent shown the climate change hydrology because it just scares everybody, Kuhn told his districts governing board in June, according to an account of the meeting published in the Aspen Daily News. The regions been looking warily at the reservoirs along this long river that winds its way from Colorados Rocky Mountains all the way to Mexico, just shy of the Gulf of California. On the contrary, he said, its actually become this locus of huge uncertainty, which doesnt allow downstream users to make effective plans, because they dont know what their allocations are going to be. With the reservoirs approaching their lowest levels in modern history, that brings us to our final number: 2026. Forecasts dont paint a pretty picture for snowpack either. And thats a word that youre hearing a lot more, is megadrought, not just this temporary state of drought. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. Lake Powell (credit: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation) The power pool mark is 3,490 feet of elevation. The Glen Canyon Dam forms Lake Powell and the Hoover Dam forms Lake Mead. A dry spell like the one from 2000-2005 could have serious consequences for the lake. This cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management. It stores water as part of the Colorado River Compact and produceselectricity through the hydroelectric turbines in Glen Canyon dam. Page mayor: Lake Powell is not drying up. The district entered 2021 with a record 3.2 million acre-feet of water storage saved up, including 1.3 million acre-feet in Lake Mead. As of Thursday, Lake Mead was at 1,045.79 feet. Climate change is driving more than two decades of drought across the region, and making it increasingly unlikely that Lake Powell will ever climb back to previous levels. This cookie is managed by Amazon Web Services and is used for load balancing. At full capacity, Lake Powell holds enough water to flood the entire state of Kentucky a foot deep. If the reservoir dips below 895 feet a possibility still years . Those are Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Utah. People are having to do things that you dont necessarily see, but we have water being hauled for livestock, water being hauled in for wildlife, Selover said. Experts say it wont be a silver bullet, but could stave off near-term danger. Both Utah and Nevada experienced their driest years on record in 2020. Overall, the river's flowis down 20% in this century relative to the 20th century. The Santa Cruz River is now a giant bed of dust and sand. And data updated Monday from the California Department of Water Resources' tracker show the reservoir climbing to 60%, still below historical levels for February 72% but significantly higher than it had been. Its important to differentiate between Lake Powell running dry versus Lake Powell dropping below elevation 3,490 [feet], Taylor Hawes, Colorado River program director at the Nature Conservancy, told The Hill in an interview. By January, the bureau projects water levels at Lake Mead to fall to 1,065.85 feet nine feet below the first shortage trigger elevation. Grim Future for Lake Powell Water levels in Lake Powell are at record lows. Because of that, its expected that the Department of the Interior'sBureau of Reclamation, which oversees water management, will mandate onesometime next year. The sp_landing is set by Spotify to implement audio content from Spotify on the website and also registers information on user interaction related to the audio content. Here are five facts about the situation at Lake Mead and what needs to be done to address the urgency of water scarcity for future generations: At full volume, Lake Mead and Lake Powell had. The Colorado River cuts through dry land that was once covered by Lake Powell on September 7, 2022, near Hite, Utah. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Together, these reservoirs, fed by the mighty Colorado River, provide the water 40million Americans depend on. Hes a reporter at KUNC, based in Fort Collins, Colorado. As water levels fall in the reservoirs and river, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has implemented a tiered shortage system to reduce the allocated amount certain regions in the lower basin receive from the river to preserve water. Luke covers the Colorado River basin. At full pool, Powell's water line lies 3,700 feet above sea level, and at 3,370 feet, it will reach deadpool levels. The historic megadrought that is squeezing some Western states water supplies will also likely start showing up in energy bills, because those dams cant produce as much electricity. 2002, 2018 and 2021 are the most intense dry periods on record for the basin. This story is part of ongoing coverage of the Colorado River, produced by KUNC with financial support from the Walton Family Foundation. Youre hearing a lot more now, especially because the interior secretary, Deb Haaland, is herself a member of a Native American tribe and has put a lot of emphasis on bringing tribes to the table, making tribal consultation a big part of the Biden administrations priorities. She said the very fact that officials in Washington, D.C. are getting involved underscores the urgency of Lake Powells crisis. The Glen Canyon Institute has advocated for draining Lake Powell, both to replenish Lake Mead and to restore Glen Canyon, which was flooded to create Lake Powell. Down the Colorado River lies Lake Mead, which is also seeing lower water levels than ever before. The combined reservoirs in Utah are below 50% full. In coming years, it's going to get worse and worse and worse.. Shes a big fan of stories related to strange animal facts and dystopian technology. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Lake Mead's water level on Wednesday was measured at 1,044.03 feet, its lowest elevation since the lake was filled in the 1930s. Extremely dry years that produce eye-popping statistics tend to grab officials by the shoulders and give them a good shake. If water levels at Lake Powell drop just another 32 feet, those generators will stop spinning. Fidelity to the original aired/published audio or video file might vary, and text might be updated or amended in the future. This cookie is used to manage the interaction with the online bots. Whether the six-year cycle of 2000-05 repeats itself is anybodys guess, said Pat Tyrrell, Wyoming state engineer who has been involved in the Upper Basin water talks. How does climate change affect you? The Colorado River systems reservoirs combined arecurrently less than half full. In the short term, yes. LUKE RUNYON: Sure, so much of the attention in the basin goes towards the rivers largest reservoirs, which also happen to be the biggest reservoirs in the entire United States. On top of the hydropower the lake generates, its the source of drinking water for the 7,500 residents of Page, Az., and the 1,443 members of the LeChee chapter of the Navajo Nation. Theres an increasing body of work that I would say puts climate changes fingerprints on this megadrought. California broke from six other Western states in proposal to cut Colorado River use as water levels reach historic lows. If Lake Powell recedes much further, one of the nations largest reservoirs could be at risk of no longer generating hydropower for the region. According to the National Park Service, contaminants from the newly exposed shorelines are reentering warm, shallow areas and becoming more concentrated. As of Thursday, Lake Mead was at 1,045.79 feet. Northern Arizonas Glen Canyon Dam, which creates the lake, has a full capacity of 1,320 megawatts, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. People should definitely not feel like the agencies managing the Colorado River have it under control, he said. Kuhns analysis is the worst case, said Pat Tyrrell, Wyoming state engineer who has been involved in the Upper Basin water talks. He covers the Colorado River basin. Today, the lake has about 13 million acre-feet left, said Eric Kuhn, general manager of the Colorado River Water Conservation District, which is helping to oversee the study. Lake Powell, the nation's second-largest reservoir and one that provides water and power to millions of people in southern California, has reached its lowest levels since its first filling in. What would constitute that? Future conservation efforts are highly uncertain. Lake Mead is the nation's largest reservoir, a companion to Lake Powell. And theres already a supply-demand imbalance on the Colorado River, and the supply is shrinking faster than officials are able to shrink the demands that we have on the river. SiteLock sets this cookie to provide cloud-based website security services. Water levels have been getting lower and lower, and for the first time ever, a shortage seems almost certain. What are the effects of climate change? Lake Mead's water level on Wednesday was measured at 1,044.03 feet, its lowest elevation since the lake was filled in the 1930s. This cookie is used for storing country code selected from country selector. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Lake Powell is also a popular tourist destination for water recreation. a study published in the journal Science said the current dry period in the Southwest is one for the record books, and that its "megadrought-like trajectory" is fueled by natural variability superimposed on . And that group includes the Navajo Nation, the Southern Ute tribe, the Quechan Indian tribe. One leg would involve reducing water demand by farmers and cities in the Upper Basin. Nancy Selover, Arizonas state climatologist, says the Upper Basin figure is concerning because that accounts for the rivers headwaters. And even the people who say, you know, oh, just wait for it to get wet again, know that changes have to be made because of that fundamental supply-demand imbalance. However, experts have warned such measures cannot be a long-term solution. The droughts that we are seeing are becoming that much more severe because of the temperature component, theyre warmer, Bolinger said. The river is a lifeline, providing water to more than . Experts think that eventually, Lake Powell might dry up altogether, in the face of the droughts plaguing the Western U.S. Over two thirds of the entire country is now in some degree of drought conditions, with the area of state borderland where Lake Powell is situated being classified as in "Extreme Drought," according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. JOHN DANKOSKY: Luke Runyon is a reporter based at KUNC in Fort Collins, Colorado. In addition, Mankin said, interventions like the Flaming Gorge release treat the western U.S.s 20-year drought as a localized phenomenon rather than a regional one. The Lower Basins legal share is 7.5 million acre feet a year. Facebook sets this cookie to show relevant advertisements to users by tracking user behaviour across the web, on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin. Science Friday is produced by the Science Friday Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Stock image of Alstrom Point, Lake Powell. Tony graduated from Northwestern University and started at the Star in 1997. Alex is KUNC's reporter covering the Colorado River Basin. So Luke, I dont know is this all just because of climate change? And thats really what were watching right now, is how low is Lake Mead going to go? You would have to go back to April of 1937, also twoyears into its initial filling, to find levels that low. The cookie does not store any personally identifiable data. Officials say the lowest level at which Glen Canyon Dam can . That could cripple the ability of the Colorado Rivers four Upper Basin states to deliver river water to the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada, as theyre legally obligated to do. The low levels arent just causing hand-wringing among the Wests water officials. Newsweek reached out to the Central Arizona Project for comment. Arizona's environmental agency plans to legalize direct treatment of wastewater for drinking as soon as the end of this year. And it would increase the likelihood of cutbacks in river water deliveries to Arizona, in particular. Federal and state officials have committed to a more inclusive process that integrates the needs of tribes, environmental and recreation groups, and Mexico. The lake that once covered 400 square miles has shrunk 90 percent, leaving behind oxygen-deprived, highly salinized water with a rotten-egg odor that permeates the surrounding area. Lake Powell has been called Jewel of the Colorado by the federal agency that built it, the Bureau of Reclamation. When its needed its released to Lake Mead and the three Lower Basin states. Today its about half full, Kuhn said. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Homicide. LinkedIn sets this cookie to remember a user's language setting. Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Climatologist Jon Meyer with the Utah Climate Center said the number that captures the severity for him is 12 inches. 84% Of Upper Basin In Extreme To Exceptional Drought This is the highest percentage of land in the river's Upper Basin since 2002, which stands as the region's driest year on record. In parts of the Colorado River basin, Bolinger said climate change has caused conditions on the ground to bump up against the designated drought categories. At 3,370 feet, the reservoir hits. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better experience for the visitors. "Its unfortunate that thelargely natural occurrence of a drought has coincided with this increasing warming due to greenhouse gases," said Flavio Lehner, aprofessor of atmospheric sciences at Cornell University. He and his wife have four cats, thousands of bees, and a yoga studio in the sleepy Northwest hills of Connecticut. In . If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. The story has been updated to reflect this information. If levels dropped below 3,490 feet, there wouldnt be enough water flowing through Glen Canyon Dams turbines to generate power. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Lake Powell is in crisis. After more than 22 years of drought compounded by warmer temperatures with climate change, Lake Mead and Lake Powell have declined to their lowest levels since they were filled. The challenges are really hard, Fleck said. Are experts looking at this saying, its just going to get worse in the Colorado River basin? Thank you for helping us continue making science fun for everyone. It is forecast to have a new record low next summer, saidHasencamp. If its done intentionally, the drawbacks of losing the reservoir could be minimized and the benefits could be maximized, Balken told The Hill. In March, the reservoir passed an important threshold. LUKE RUNYON: So seven US states make up the Colorado River basin. Even though conditions may be evolving and getting even worse, we dont really have a way to depict that, because D4, thats that ceiling, she said. Some of Americas largest cities depend on the water from Lake Mead. And really, what were seeing in the basin is that warming of just a couple degrees has the potential to completely upend how the water cycle functions in the Southwest. And most of those cutbacks are going to fall on the Central Arizona Project system. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Udall questioned the validity of using the years before 2000 because the years 1990 to 1999 were very wet and not representative of the weather we see now. KUNC is solely responsible for its editorial coverage. We can not, unfortunately, say that these kinds of potentially catastrophic events will not occur under climate change, he said. It is something in peer-reviewed, published science for decades and decades that the managers of the Colorado River have been ignoring.. Credit: Alex Hager. This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen. Give us an idea, if you would, just how low the supply is in the basins reservoirs right now. Big Water, Utah It's hard to believe a place as beautiful as Lake Powell is also a shadow of its former self. Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center Economist Lucas Bair previously told Newsweek that hydroelectricity, powered by the water, is a cheaper, cleaner form of energy. Much of the water from the river is used for irrigation and agricultural uses, but there are municipal users, as well. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to fill one acre of land to a height of one foot. The lake was just under 24 percent full as of. A years worth of rain and snow is missing from Utahs ground. But Lake Powell's current water level is the lowest since it was first filled almost 60 years ago. How they disrupt our daily life, fuel disasters. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. And by themselves they are no longer sufficient to meet the area needs. LinkedIn sets this cookie from LinkedIn share buttons and ad tags to recognize browser ID. Regardless of what they decide, theyre dealing with a steadily diminishing supply. The Lower Basin states have already agreed on two short-term programs to reduce their take of water from Mead. These ICS uses, at the high end, amount to two and a half feet of elevation in Lake Mead. LUKE RUNYON: Well, Arizona is in the line for the steepest cuts from the Colorado River. Lake Powell is the town's lifeline. 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