Lake Powell officials take emergency steps to protect hydropower from Glen Canyon Dam

The first step is releasing extra water from upstream on the Colorado River this year. The second is water shall be held back in Lake Powell itself, as an alternative of being sent to downstream states.

The US Bureau of Reclamation expects the dual actions will boost Lake Powell by nearly 1 million acre-feet of water. The reservoir contained about 5.8 million acre-feet of water as of Tuesday, in line with the bureau, although its full capability is round 25 million acre-feet.

With out the emergency steps, the bureau estimated there was a few 25% chance the Glen Canyon Dam could have stopped producing hydropower by January. The dam generates power for as many as 5.8 million houses and companies in seven states.

The agency mentioned in a statement Tuesday's choice was meant to guard "hydropower generation, the facility's key infrastructure, and the water provide for the town of Page, Arizona, and the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation."

The emergency actions will purchase the federal government 12 months as it considers longer-term measures.

"Now we have never taken this step before, but the potential danger on the horizon demands prompt action," Assistant Secretary of Water and Science, Tanya Trujillo told reporters. "We need to work collectively to stabilize the reservoir earlier than we face a bigger disaster."

Lake Powell has dropped round 100 ft within the last three years as the West has been besieged by drought. Because the water degree has fallen, Glen Canyon Dam has misplaced about 16% of its capacity to generate energy.

Bryan Hill, basic supervisor of the public energy utility in Page, Arizona, likened the scenario to judgment day.

"We're knocking on the door of judgment day," Hill beforehand advised CNN. "Judgment day being when we have no water to offer anyone."

The choices made for Lake Powell also affect its downstream neighbor, Lake Mead, which is the biggest reservoir in the country.

Water cuts for many who depend on Lake Mead started in January, and Tuesday's resolution could lead to additional restrictions.

Lake Mead's water level is now low enough to reveal one of many reservoir's authentic, 1971 water intake valves for the primary time. The valve can now not draw water, in accordance with the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the agency answerable for managing water assets for 2.2 million folks in southern Nevada, together with Las Vegas.

Officials over the weekend made another disturbing discovery brought on by Lake Mead's plummeting water degree: a body in a barrel police say is a probable murder sufferer from the Eighties.

"The lake has drained dramatically over the past 15 years," mentioned Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Homicide Lieutenant Ray Spencer. "It is probably that we will find extra bodies which have been dumped in Lake Mead" as the water degree drops extra.