They don't have it under control. 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. Conditions have been deteriorating across the river basin since the summer of 2020. The four Upper Basin states Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are devising a three-legged stool plan to protect Lake Powell. Balken said depositing the lake's water in Lake Mead, which isn't made out of sandstone,. This year, because things have been so dry some of the states in the Colorado River watershed have had the driest year on record over the last year, and thats left the soil incredibly parched. The Colorado River basin has experienced three D4 droughts in the last 20 years, including the current one. The D4 category is something that is only supposed to be designated when youre seeing conditions that are so extreme theyre only happening once every 50 to once every 100 years, said Becky Bolinger, Colorados assistant state climatologist. 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. "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. We don't know if the dam will operate as expected. The . And thats Lake Powell in southern Utah and Lake Mead, which is on the Nevada-Arizona border near Las Vegas. Newsweek previously. 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. So when Lake Mead declines, certain policy triggers are put in place. LUKE RUNYON: So seven US states make up the Colorado River basin. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Lake Powell's feeble condition is part of a climate reckoning in the West that links water, ecosystems, food production, and energy generation. This is the highest percentage of land in the rivers Upper Basin since 2002, which stands as the regions driest year on record. Thousands of Tucson homes use 250% more water than you. At this stage a significant amount of Glen Canyon . 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. With modest reductions in flow, they would be meaningful.. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. What to know about the West's ongoing water crisis: Lake Powell is the nation's second-largestreservoir. You would have to go back to April of 1937, also twoyears into its initial filling, to find levels that low. And that sponge is very dry right now, and its sucking up all of that water before it can be used as water supply. Copyright 2021 Science Friday Initiative. Broadly speaking, dropping levels have created a lot of unanswered questions about the future. The water levels behind the Colorado Rivers biggest dams are fast-approaching or already at record lows. 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. We're most likely witnessing the end of this reservoir. 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. If its dry there, that means many more problems as the water flows downstream. It also helps in fraud preventions. If allocations from the Colorado River dip below the levels necessary for some customers to receive hydropower, the real question [becomes] what can our grid accommodate from a hydropower perspective in terms of compensating production losses from Glen Canyon? said Justin Mankin, an assistant professor of geography at Dartmouth College. 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. Lake Mead's water levels were 1,047.38 feet as of February 23. The Hoover Dam is therefore also at risk of declining hydroelectric power generation as Lake Mead approaches deadpool levels. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". And it's not a backroom voodoo mystery that only fortune tellers can forecast. Water levels have been getting lower and lower, and for the first time ever, a shortage seems almost certain. For the Upper Basin states, the reservoir storage has ensured theyll be able to meet their legal requirement under the 1922 Colorado River Compact to deliver 75 million acre feet to the Lower Basin every 10 years. One leg would involve reducing water demand by farmers and cities in the Upper Basin. Its also in the groundwater, something that you cant see. This segment is part ofThe State of Science, a series featuring science stories from public radio stations across the United States. Okay. And it doesnt allow ratepayers who rely on power production from the canyon to be forward-thinking and operate under conditions of certainty., Cities, farmers and fish all need certainty when it comes to water, and this is the opposite of certainty, Hawes said. Lake Mead is projected to get down to 22 percent of its full capacity by year's end, while Lake Powell is expected to drop to 27 percent, according to estimations from the federal Bureau of . Experts say it wont be a silver bullet, but could stave off near-term danger. Colorado River tribes pose statewide leasing idea, Risks to Lake Mead, Colorado River intensifying greatly, federal officials say, Arizona basketball | Tommy Lloyd on the wild, fun nature of college hoops | Feb. 28, 2023, Millions at Risk of Slipping Into Poverty as COVID-Era SNAP Benefits Set to End, More than 300 words have been added to the English dictionary. 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. Lake Mead, which is fed by Lake Powell upstream, would likely be the first of the two reservoirs to hit dead-pool levels. works with the radio team to create our weekly show, and is helping to build our State of Science Reporting Network. Credit: Alex Hager. Grim Future for Lake Powell Water levels in Lake Powell are at record lows. 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. But its fundamental purpose under the federal law that created it is to serve as a water insurance policy for the Colorado River Basin. Some of Americas largest cities depend on the water from Lake Mead. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. He and his wife have four cats, thousands of bees, and a yoga studio in the sleepy Northwest hills of Connecticut. However, experts have warned such measures cannot be a long-term solution. For context, on the scale of no drought to worst drought, theres no category that captures conditions more dry than exceptional. The year as I write is now 2018. Luke Runyon is the water reporter at KUNC in Greeley, Colorado. Since Lake Powell is primarily sandstone, the lake actually leaks water into the porous rocks. During the 2000-2005 drought, Lake Powell lost 13 million acre-feet of water and dropped almost 100 feet. People should definitely not feel like the agencies managing the Colorado River have it under control, he said. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages. 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. 1. Azure sets this cookie for routing production traffic by specifying the production slot. Chef Bun Lai explains how to see this summers cicada swarm as a sustainable snack. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. "Climate change makes these extreme weather events both more frequent and more severe, '' Matthew Casale, Environment Campaigns Director at non-profit advocacy group PIRG, previously told Newsweek. If levels dropped below 3,490 feet, there wouldnt be enough water flowing through Glen Canyon Dams turbines to generate power. This summer, the water. And how can certain policy agreements, policy negotiations, be structured in order to allow tribal nations to come to the table and negotiate for future policies? This cookie is set by the provider Akamai Bot Manager. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Issued by Microsoft's ASP.NET Application, this cookie stores session data during a user's website visit. 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. Just as water demand is going up, the supply is going down. As a key ingredient in everything from asphalt to microchips, scientists are trying to make sand extraction more ecologically friendly. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Earlier this year, the Bureau of Reclamation released about 500,000 acre-feet from Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Utah and Wyoming to Lake Powell, increasing its elevation about 16 feet. At 3,522 feet, Lake Powell's water surface elevation is at its lowest point since it was first filled in the 1960s, per a statement. John Dankosky works with the radio team to create our weekly show, and is helping to build our State of Science Reporting Network. They've been ignoring the problem coming for decades and decades. SiteLock sets this cookie to provide cloud-based website security services. A years worth of rain and snow is missing from Utahs ground. Understanding and explaining the depth of the dryness is up to climate scientists throughout the basin. Share on Facebook; . The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. It's partly that there's less rain and snow, partly that as temperatures rise, plants use more water and more water evaporates out of the soil which would otherwise have ended up in the river. Lakes in the Colorado River Basin are drying up and losing water, with severe water cuts now expected across four states - the start of a water crisis in the West. Scientists say the current status of Lake Mead is a stark illustration of climate change and a megadrought that could be the worst in the U.S. West in 1,200 years . The level has risen over the winter months due to rainfall and particularly cold weather to hit parts of the U.S. It stores water as part of the Colorado River Compact and produceselectricity through the hydroelectric turbines in Glen Canyon dam. Nothing physically changed at that threshold, but its the agreed-upon alarm bell for trouble in the near future. So, what would happen if Lake Powell dried up? They both use water from the Colorado River. Nancy Selover, Arizonas state climatologist, says the Upper Basin figure is concerning because that accounts for the rivers headwaters. That year is the deadline for water users to negotiate a new set of managing guidelines for the Colorado River. In the short term, yes. Dry soils soak up snow when it melts, keeping it from rivers and reservoirs. 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