The federal government announced Tuesday it is taking unprecedented, emergency steps to help boost water levels at Lake Powell.
Highlights
- The US Bureau of Reclamation expects the dual actions will boost Lake Powell by nearly 1 million acre-feet of water.
- The measures are intended to buy the surrounding communities more time to plan for the very real possibility the reservoir will soon run out of water and the ability to produce hydropower amid the West’s climate change-driven megadrought.
- The Glen Canyon Dam generates power for as many as 5.8 million homes and businesses in seven states.
- Without the emergency steps, the bureau estimated there was about a 25% chance the Glen Canyon dam could have stopped producing hydroppower by January.
- The reservoir contained about 5 million acre feet of water as of Tuesday, though its full capacity is around 25 million acre