Lake Powell Glen Canyon Dam water release delayed because of drought

Water ranges are at a historic low at Lake Powell on April 5, 2022 in Page, Arizona.

Rj Sangosti| Medianews Group | The Denver Put up by way of Getty Photographs

The federal authorities on Tuesday announced it can delay the release of water from one of the Colorado River's main reservoirs, an unprecedented action that may briefly handle declining reservoir ranges fueled by the historic Western drought.

The decision will hold more water in Lake Powell, the reservoir positioned at the Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona, as an alternative of releasing it downstream to Lake Mead, the river's different main reservoir.

The actions come as water ranges at both reservoirs reached their lowest levels on file. Lake Powell's water degree is presently at an elevation of three,523 toes. If the level drops under 3,490 toes, the so-called minimal energy pool, the Glen Canyon Dam, which supplies electrical energy for about 5.8 million clients within the inland West, will now not be capable to generate electricity.

The delay is anticipated to protect operations on the dam for next 12 months, officials stated during a press briefing on Tuesday, and can keep nearly 500,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Powell. Below a separate plan, officers will also launch about 500,000 acre-feet of water into Lake Powell from Flaming Gorge, a reservoir positioned upstream at the Utah-Wyoming border.

Officials stated the actions will help save water, defend the dam's skill to provide hydropower and provide officials with extra time to determine the right way to function the dam at lower water levels.

"We've by no means taken this step before within the Colorado Basin," assistant Interior Department secretary Tanya Trujillo instructed reporters on Tuesday. "However the circumstances we see immediately, and what we see on the horizon, demand that we take immediate motion."

Federal officers final yr ordered the first-ever water cuts for the Colorado River Basin, which supplies water to greater than 40 million folks and a few 2.5 million acres of croplands within the West. The cuts have largely affected farmers in Arizona, who use practically three-quarters of the accessible water supply to irrigate their crops.

In April, federal water managers warned the seven states that draw from the Colorado River that the government was considering taking emergency motion to address declining water levels at Lake Powell.

Later that month, representatives from the states despatched a letter to the Interior agreeing with the proposal and requesting that non permanent reductions in releases from Lake Powell be carried out with out triggering additional water cuts in any of the states.

The megadrought within the western U.S. has fueled the driest 20 years within the region in at least 1,200 years, with conditions more likely to proceed through 2022 and persist for years. Researchers have estimated that 42% of the drought's severity is attributable to human-caused climate change.

"Our climate is altering, our actions are answerable for that, and we've got to take responsible motion to respond," Trujillo mentioned. "All of us have to work together to guard the resources we've and the declining water supplies in the Colorado River that our communities depend on."