It will be among the lowest years of generation ever, said Nick Williams, power manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamations Upper Colorado River Region in an interview last week. Wang suggests updating the reference period more frequently or using the last 20 years as the baseline. Mitchell declined to discuss the pending drought operations plan. Back then, Hannegan said, We made an assumption that our WAPA (Western Area Power Administration) allocation would be firm, reliable and always there. To view the current inflow forecast relative to past inflows, click on Lake Powell Inflow Forecast. The most recent data is from Monday, February 27th, 2023. This was the lowest water levels have been since the lake was first constructed in the 1930s. She reported that, as of March 16, 2022, Lake Powell was at an elevation of 3,524.83 feet (ft.) with storage of 5.916 million acre-feet (maf) or 24 percent of capacity. //-->, Printable Version At the beginning of the series in 1999, water levels in Lake Powell were relatively high, and the water was a clear, dark blue. google_ad_height = 600; But a long-term drying trend began in the year 2000. Lake Powell was at 26% of capacity, 168 feet below its full elevation of 3,700 feet above sea level at . 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. Lake Powell water level at Wahweap Marina in September 2021 | Photo by Bureau of Reclamation, St. George News . The Colorado River cuts through dry land that was once covered by Lake Powell on September 7, 2022, near Hite, Utah. Wednesday snow and wind will be heavy at times leading to difficult if not impossible travel. As the forecast season progresses, A visual history of the water level of each of our Lake Powell trips over the past three years. Please contact the Operations Group via e-mail at ResourceMgr@usbr.gov for additional information. 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. At the same time, power producers are gearing up to craft a fallback plan for extending hydropower production at Glen Canyon Dam if water levels continue to fall. With low-runoff conditions and . Prepared by Ashley Nielson NOAA, National Weather Service Colorado Basin River Forecast Center Salt Lake City, Utah www.cbrfc.noaa.gov Contents The unregulated inflow during the 2000-2022 period has ranged from a low of 2.64 maf (28 percent of average) in water year 2002 to a high of 15.97 maf (166 percent of average) in water year 2011. A Tier 3 shortage would impact the amount of . and last updated 5:24 PM, Sep 24, 2021. The forecast isnt great, said Kyle Whitaker, Colorado River Manager for the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, one of the largest diverters of water in the headwaters region of the river. Water supply forecasts take into consideration present hydrometeorological conditions and use There is approximately an 80 percent probability that a future elevation will fall inside the range of the minimum and maximum inflow scenarios. 175 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<68753438768B134985CC80C922059B30>]/Index[159 34]/Info 158 0 R/Length 84/Prev 199590/Root 160 0 R/Size 193/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream 04:18 . The peak inflow to Lake Powell occurs in mid- to late spring, as the winter snow in the Rocky Mountains melts. The Glen Canyon Dam annual release has initially been set to 7.00 maf, and in April 2023 Reclamation will evaluate hydrologic conditions to determine if balancing releases may be appropriate under the conditions established in the 2007 Interim Guidelines; Balancing releases will be limited (with a minimum of 7.00 maf) to protect Lake Powell from declining below elevation 3,525 feet at the end of December 2023; Balancing releases will take into account operational neutrality of the 0.480 maf that was retained in Lake Powell under the. Some Arizona cities have implemented drought management plans to conserve water, but the area continues to use water at a rate that negates Lake Powell's recovery. For additional information, the news release can be found here: https://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/news-release/4294. Sunday, February 26, 2023 12:00:00 AM Level is 178.87 feet %%EOF 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. Fish & Wildlife Service Endangered Species Success Stories. google_ad_width = 160; At the same time, electric utilities across the West are looking for other green options and hoping that hydropower production wont stop altogether. Much of that water. Printable Version Gas Prices on Lake Detailed Map of Powell 15 Day Weather Forecast In the image acquired on May 1, 2004, the reservoirs northwestern branch is isolated from the main reservoir; the shallow water upstream could not crest raised areas in the lakebed. From there, a swing to the northeast delivers boats into Lake Powell's main artery. Lake Powell is so low that it is nearing a dead pool, in which water levels aren't high enough to deliver water downstream. Last July, to protect the 3,525 buffer zone, Reclamation ordered emergency water releases from three reservoirs in the Upper Colorado River Basin. It took decades for Lake Powell to reach catastrophically low levels, and according to one expert, it'll take a long time to restore the levels, too. Few expected to ever see this drop in hydropower production, let alone consider what to do if Glen Canyon were to cease electricity production entirely. In addition to the February 2023 24-Month Study based on the Most Probable inflow scenario, and in accordance with the Drought Response Operational Agreement (DROA)), Reclamation has conducted model runs in February to determine a possible range of reservoir elevations. Detailed Map of Powell Since the beginning of water year 2000, total Colorado Basin storage has experienced year to year increases and decreases in response to wet and dry hydrology, ranging from a high of 94 percent of capacity at the beginning of 2000 to the now current level of 33 percent of capacity at the beginning of water year 2023. He began his journalism career in New Hampshire, then moved West and became a reporter at the Lafayette News. SW Satellite Weather Water managers, who . Official Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Changing Lake Levels Info. SW Satellite Weather Upper Colorado Region Water Operations: Current Status: Lake Powell, Spring Snow Brings Moisture to Colorado Front Range, NASA Goddard Space Water availability, appropriate timing of releases, and impacts on other resources are all being considered as the 2022 Plan is being drafted.. Part of the Glen Canyon Conservancy Family, Utah D.O.T Charles Hall Ferry for UT Route 276. hb```)," :pNB/gb2D0p6Ecb :qD_q7wE42TOOSW:Oa^(-]p7y|iZ.8uq:}1y3bJ]!G ) ytRdJp2 +[|}QpEU}V'k{yeKud"xl_-x lJ!UZ`,n!\3{dcb 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. 15 Day Weather Forecast SW Satellite Weather SW Water Vapor Lake Powell is down 6.18 feet from one year ago. The lake is set to reach. Cheap sewer pipe repairs can push toxic fumes into homes and schools heres Hard water: In these metro neighborhoods, few drink the tap water. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun), How Denver is spending the $41M from the Broncos sale, (720) 263-2338 Call, text, Signal or WhatsApp, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. 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! average basin temperatures and precipitation for the forecast period. google_ad_client = "pub-0146338466817273"; Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Geological Survey for comment. (2019-2021) AND my own personal prediction of 2022 based on p. The reservoir's levels rise after consistent rain or snowpack melt in the area. This article contains new, firsthand information uncovered by its reporter(s). The March 2023 releases are anticipated to fluctuate between a low of 5,276 cfs to a high of 9,641 cfs. View our Current Membership Thank You Gifts, KNAU News Talk - Arizona Public Radio | Water Data for 20 days surrounding Feb 28, 2022. a greater portion of the future hydrologic and climatic uncertainty becomes known and The probable minimum and probable maximum model runs are conducted simultaneously in January, April, August, and October, or when necessary to incorporate changing conditions. 159 0 obj <> endobj At the beginning of water year 2023, total system storage in the Colorado River Basin was 19.54 maf (33 percent of 58.48 maf total system capacity). The Upper Basin reservoirs have already provided 161,000 acre-feet of water pursuant to the imminent need provision of the Drought Response Operations Agreement, including 36,000 acre-feet from Blue Mesa Reservoir in Colorado. Encompassing all or parts of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. CNN's Bill Weir has more. The critical issue is how to maintain the lake at 3,525, which marks an elevation that is the top of the liquid buffer zone designed to protect the lakes mighty electricity turbines. 04:12 - Source: CNN As of September 20, 2021, the water elevation at Glen Canyon Dam was 3,546.93 feet, more than 153 feet below "full pool" (elevation 3,700 feet). Jian Wang of Utahs Center for Colorado River Studies says that means the projections may be too optimistic. google_color_link = "0000FF"; But the declining water already has drained some of the fun, he said. 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. The bureau, in consultation with tribal nations and the seven Colorado River Basin states, decided to keep nearly 500,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Powell that had originally been planned to be released to the Lower Basin states of Nevada, Arizona and California this year. "These reservoirs are huge," Lund said. We are 41% through the Water Year. Differences between the full period forecasts and the residual forecasts may not exactly equal the actual observed volumes due to rounding conventions (see Definitions section). Because the 2022 operations were designed to protect critical elevations at Lake Powell, Reclamation will implement Lower Elevation Balancing Tier operations in a way that continues to protect these critical elevations, or preserves the benefits of the 2022 operations to protect Lake Powell, in water year 2023. Feet above sea level Change - Feet difference over previous . The deep, narrow, meandering reservoir extends upstream into southern Utah. 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