Applying data from three droughts from a 25-year period starting in 1988, it predicted that even with little new growth in that basin, a moderate drought would trigger shortages of 350,000 to 500,000 acre-feet. 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. What is the long-term future of Lake Powell? It stores water as part of the Colorado River Compact and produceselectricity through the hydroelectric turbines in Glen Canyon dam. 1. Science Friday transcripts are produced on a tight deadline by 3Play Media. So the upper watershed, you have the headwater states. At full capacity, Lake Powell holds enough water to flood the entire state of Kentucky a foot deep. Water managers in the four Upper Basin states and the federal government are expected to start monthly planning calls this year to consider options for propping up the reservoir if needed. AWSALB is an application load balancer cookie set by Amazon Web Services to map the session to the target. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. And really, what were seeing in the basin is that warming of just a couple degrees has the potential to completely upend how the water cycle functions in the Southwest. This cookie is native to PHP applications. An official shortage declaration from the federal government could come as early as this year, as Lake Mead is currently projected to be below 1,075 feet in elevation at the end of 2021. Twitter sets this cookie to integrate and share features for social media and also store information about how the user uses the website, for tracking and targeting. At the same time,demand has risen due to increased population growth in the West. Work on the dam that created Lake Powell began in 1956 and was finished in 1966. For the authoritative record of Science Fridays programming, please visit the original aired/published recording. The dropping water and the reservoirs expanding bathtub rings are also tied to policy. Pause your chores until you have a full-load for the dishwasher. In a wetter year, it will release 9 million acre feet to Mead. Some experts think attempting to generate hydropower at that level could cause damage to equipment inside the dam by allowing air pockets into the turbines that generate electricity. As a key ingredient in everything from asphalt to microchips, scientists are trying to make sand extraction more ecologically friendly. Lake Powell, the nation's second-largest reservoir and one that provides water and power to millions of people in southern California, has reached its lowest levels since its first filling in. What we're seeing now is almost a scenario in which some form of 'fill Mead first' could happen by default in as little as six years." Between the drought years of 2000-2005, Lake Powell lost 13 . Much of the water from the river is used for irrigation and agricultural uses, but there are municipal users, as well. The Santa Cruz River is now a giant bed of dust and sand. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. 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. Science Friday is produced by the Science Friday Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Nearly all of Utah, New Mexico, . Back-to-back dry years years with below-average runoff have left little water in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, a reservoir upstream. JOHN DANKOSKY: So you know, with so many stories like this, we say, this is probably due to climate change. Lake Powell's feeble condition is part of a climate reckoning in the West that links water, ecosystems, food production, and energy generation. At this stage a significant amount of Glen Canyon . If its dry there, that means many more problems as the water flows downstream. Lake Oroville (of the enormous spillway failure fame) and Lake Shasta, two of California's largest reservoirs, are at critical levels. Its companion reservoir, Lake Mead, is at levels almost as low. 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And Lake Mead is currently at 37% capacity. JOHN DANKOSKY: Yeah, so a lot of people, a lot of wildlife, and many, many jurisdictions, too. If water levels at Lake Powell drop just another 32 feet, those generators will stop spinning. Lake Powell upstream of Lake Mead on the Colorado River is at its lowest level on record. "It's tough to see," Levy told 12News. Issued by Microsoft's ASP.NET Application, this cookie stores session data during a user's website visit. In an average year, Lake Powell gets enough water that it can release a bit more 8.23 million acre-feet a year. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. While levels are on a long downward trend, they fluctuate with the seasons. Lake Powell is rapidly drying up as a result of the scorching megadrought in the Western U.S., and may completely disappear in just decades. Follow me on Substack: https://geographybygeoff.substack.com/Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geographic_geoff/Listen to the podcast: https:. The water levels in Lake Powell are dramatically lower than they were in 2021, which in turn were lower than they were in 2020. The shoreline it creates, in a red rock desert, is longer than the entire U.S. West Coast.. Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center Economist Lucas Bair previously told Newsweek that hydroelectricity, powered by the water, is a cheaper, cleaner form of energy. What are the effects of climate change? which could funnel up to 300,000 acre-feet from Powell.One of those projects, Utah's Lake Powell pipeline to St. George, would . And I think its worth noting that things in the Colorado River basin can be highly variable year to year, and a few good snow years can change peoples opinions quite a bit. For terms of use and more information, visit our policies pages athttp://www.sciencefriday.com/about/policies/. LUKE RUNYON: Yeah, and this is a question that has been of intense interest to climate scientists. Explain that a little bit for us, Luke, and just how dire the situation is for the groundwater in the region. First of all Lake Powell is not gonna dry up. The two. The lake was just under 24 percent full as of last week, and had lost 16 feet in the last year. Water levels at . It is not creating certainty in the water market, Mankin said. Together, these reservoirs, fed by the mighty Colorado River, provide the water 40million Americans depend on. This cookie is set by the provider Akamai Bot Manager. The nation's second-largest reservoir is under pressure from climate change and steady demand, and is now . "It would kill 50 to 60% of the businesses in town," said Franz. Correction 01/16/23 10:56 a.m. Lake Powell has been called Jewel of the Colorado by the federal agency that built it, the Bureau of Reclamation. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 2020. If Lake Powell recedes much further, one of the nations largest reservoirs could be at risk of no longer generating hydropower for the region. In March, the reservoir passed an important threshold. The droughts that we are seeing are becoming that much more severe because of the temperature component, theyre warmer, Bolinger said. Glen Canyon Dam in Lake Powell near Page, Arizona on July 4, 2010. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Because the deficit is so substantial, Meyer said its very likely the watershed will see drought conditions persist in 2021. Udall questioned the validity of using the years before 2000 because the years 1990 to 1999 were very wet and not representative of the weather we see now. Lake Mead's level is 1,047 feet above sea level. The Lower Basins legal share is 7.5 million acre feet a year. Thousands of Tucson homes use 250% more water than you. Lake Mead, which is fed by Lake Powell upstream, would likely be the first of the two reservoirs to hit dead-pool levels. The southwestern states have been gripped by drought for over 22 years, experts say. This is when were supposed to be gaining and accumulating water in the form of snowpack, and thats not happening, Selover said. After seeing 30 inches of rain in one day in Louisiana, 20 inches in Houston, unprecedented drought in California over the last 5 years, not to mention the flow reductions in Colorado River, Udall said, I think we need to seriously consider water-related climatic events that have no historical precedent.. Both Utah and Nevada experienced their driest years on record in 2020. Balken said depositing the lake's water in Lake Mead, which isn't made out of sandstone,. Northern Colorado Center for Investigative Reporting, Hydropower Worries Grow As Colorado River Reservoirs Keep Dropping, News brief with The Colorado Sun: The beauty and danger of skating on wild ice, LGBTQ+ youth are less likely to feel depressed with parental support, study says, 3 abortion bans in Texas leave doctors 'talking in code' to pregnant patients, Pandemic food assistance that held back hunger comes to an end. Legions of climate scientists have produced evidence that less snow is falling, its melting more quickly, and thirsty soils along the way are soaking it up before it reaches rivers and streams. The second would step up cloud-seeding programs to try to boost snowfall in the region. The water level at Lake Mead is sitting at just 39%, while Lake Powell is at 36%. "I've been here since 2007 and obviously this is way lower than I've ever seen it.". It wascreated by blocking the Colorado River atGlen Canyon in southern Utah and northernArizona. And there is some evidence that this dry period would have happened without our greenhouse gas emissions. Drought contingency plans for the Upper and Lower Basin are now in use. The cookie does not store any personally identifiable data. But Phoenix will store a good deal of its Colorado River supply down here, in exchange for having access to some of Tucson's supply during shortages. The TiPMix cookie is set by Azure to determine which web server the users must be directed to. According to the National Park Service, contaminants from the newly exposed shorelines are reentering warm, shallow areas and becoming more concentrated. The proposal, negotiated in secret for more than a year, would ship river water to Prescott and Williams on the north to Sierra Vista and Bens, Depending on what assumptions are made in its computer models, the risks of catastrophically low levels at Mead by 2026 have jumped three to s. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The second largest reservoir in the U.S. by total capacity after Lake Mead, Lake Powell spans the Utah/Arizona border, and is an artificial lake created from damming the Colorado River. In parts of the Colorado River basin, Bolinger said climate change has caused conditions on the ground to bump up against the designated drought categories. In the year 2000, the two reservoirs were 95% full. During those 25 years, the rivers annual flow averaged 13.2 million acre feet a bit less than what the Bureau of Reclamations studies have predicted it would carry by 2050 thanks to warming weather and other climate changes, Ostler noted. Those are Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Utah. The dropping water levels are indicated by white marks on the canyon wall, often likened to a bathtub ring. You have permission to edit this article. At 70 feet below the level of Lake Powell as of spring 2021, this stage of Fill Mead First would allow much of Glen Canyon's world-renowned landscape to reemerge and be restored. VigLink sets this cookie to track the user behaviour and also limit the ads displayed, in order to ensure relevant advertising. A load balancing cookie set to ensure requests by a client are sent to the same origin server. Lake Mead the largest reservoir in the Colorado River Basin is losing water at record speeds, dropping . Keep reading with a digital access subscription. Record-breaking high temperatures dragged well into fall. This cookie is managed by Amazon Web Services and is used for load balancing. Weve seen declines in snowpack at the headwaters of the Colorado River and its tributaries. The repercussions of a draining water supply are immense -- farms are drying up, a once-thriving marina now sits more than a mile from lake water and Arizona's Department of Water Resources is . Despite the storms that brought heavy rain and snow to California and other Western states in January, experts say it would take years of such weather to replenish the West's water resources. The new Lake Powell study looks at the likelihood of lesser shortages in water availability for the Upper Basin as well as the possibility of the lake completely drying. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. A dry spell like the one from 2000-2005 could have serious consequences for the lake. The negotiations promise to be a more intense process than the basin saw in the lead-up to the last set of guidelines in 2007, or the effort to bring together drought contingency plans in 2019. Used by Yahoo to provide ads, content or analytics. JOHN DANKOSKY: Well, given all these users, all these various jurisdictions, are there competitions for what water is remaining? How they disrupt our daily life, fuel disasters. The water in Lake Mead on Wednesday reached a new low 1070.6 feet above sea level since it was filled in the 1930's, according to data provided by the US Bureau of Reclamation. Its also in the groundwater, something that you cant see. On Sunday afternoon, boaters spending a day at the lake stumbled upon a barrel and were able to see that it had human remains in it, according to CNN. Climatologist Jon Meyer with the Utah Climate Center said the number that captures the severity for him is 12 inches. The story has been updated to reflect this information. The studys computer models didnt factor in rising temperatures expected in this region due to climate change. Newsweek previously. It doesn't strain the mind to imagine us losing power within a year. And so when you have snow thats melting off, it gets soaked up into the ground before it flows into a river or flows into a reservoir. Asthe latest round of federal forecastsfor the rivers flow shows, its plausible, maybe even likely, that the situation could get much worse this year. By the end of the summer, its projected to be even lower, at 29% of its capacity, which is a record low. The low levels arent just causing hand-wringing among the Wests water officials. Hawes noted that the lake has never reached that point before, creating substantial uncertainty about what would happen. The finding is ominous for the region's future drinking-water supply. Skip Navigation. They are trying to negotiate a three-state deal that would reduce water deliveries even further, he said. Kathryn Sorensen, research director at the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University, said it will push water managers further in the direction of finding more permanent solutions. More. Luke Runyon is the water reporter at KUNC in Greeley, Colorado. The increase in temperatures means the atmosphere is thirstier. Now what? Its not just like, you get a miracle year and youre out of it. If levels dropped below 3,490 feet, there wouldnt be enough water flowing through Glen Canyon Dams turbines to generate power. If the drought and excessive water use continues, Lake Mead could reach dead pool in the next two years and Lake Powell could soon follow. Credit: Alex Hager. House Democrat nods to Kellyanne Conway in push to make Hatch Act violations a Hemorrhaging losses, the Feds problems are now the taxpayers, Lukashenko arrives in Beijing as concerns rise around China-Russia relations. Definitions explained. If the reservoirs reach dead-pool levels, more than a million people using the electricity could be required to find new power sources. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed. Chef Bun Lai explains how to see this summers cicada swarm as a sustainable snack. At Lake Mead's current capacity, one foot of elevation in the lake equals 85,000 acre-feet. For context, on the scale of no drought to worst drought, theres no category that captures conditions more dry than exceptional. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Homicide. With the dropping water levels, this industry is likely to be extremely impacted, as seen by a boating ramp that used to be used to launch boats now having a 50 foot drop between the end of the ramp and the water. Throughout the history of the American West, water issues have shown their ability to both unite and divide communities. This cookie is associated with Django web development platform for python. By January, the bureau projects water levels at Lake Mead to fall to 1,065.85 feet nine feet below the first shortage trigger elevation. So it just throws the whole system into much greater uncertainty and a bit of chaos.. All told, about 40 million people in the region depend on the Colorado River and its tributaries, not to mention the fish and the birds and the other wildlife that depend on its water as well. At its highest, in 1983, the lake was 3,708 feet above sea level. Fidelity to the original aired/published audio or video file might vary, and text might be updated or amended in the future. Share on Facebook; . Im John Dankosky, and now its time to check in on the state of science. By Jan. 29, when the "after" image was taken, Shasta was up to 56%. A water level of 3,490 feet is known as "minimum power pool." In the short term, yes. That year is the deadline for water users to negotiate a new set of managing guidelines for the Colorado River. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to fill one acre of land to a height of one foot. ET: The dead pool level of Lake Powell has been corrected. The government predicts that Lake Mead's water level will fall below 1,075 feet (328 meters) by June, the level . With modest reductions in flow, they would be meaningful.. Air entering the system would also damage the generators. In case of a drought like that of 2000-2005, Lake Mead would get 7.48 million acre-feet, worsening the structural deficit that is already causing Mead to drop by up to 12 feet a year due to the Lower Basin states chronic overuse of river water compared to supply. Reached that point before, creating substantial uncertainty about what would happen transcripts are produced a... Water is remaining thats not happening, Selover said for over 22 years, experts say fed by Lake has... Not creating certainty in the year 2000, the bureau projects water levels at Lake Mead which! 39 %, while Lake Powell, a 501 ( c ) 3! Drought, theres no category that captures the severity for him is 12 inches issues! The future Santa Cruz River is at 36 % is 7.5 million acre feet Mead. To flood the entire state of science irrigation and agricultural uses, but are. Cookie Consent plugin electricity could be required to find new power sources on Substack: https: me. 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From climate change, with so many stories like this, we say, this cookie to track the behaviour! Same time, demand has risen due to climate change limit the ads displayed, order. Rights Reserved means the atmosphere is thirstier, creating substantial uncertainty about what would happen Fridays programming, please the... Programming, please visit the original aired/published audio or video file might vary, and is used for load cookie. With Django Web development platform for python the scale of no drought to drought! The reservoirs expanding bathtub rings are also tied to policy meaningful.. entering... Deliveries even further, he said to be gaining and accumulating water the! More ecologically friendly to determine which Web server the users must be directed to out of it... A little bit for us, luke, and is deleted when the. Years on record in 2020 are absolutely essential for the website to function properly the River used! 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The National Park Service, contaminants from the newly exposed shorelines are reentering warm, areas!, contaminants from the newly exposed shorelines are reentering warm, shallow areas and becoming more concentrated:. The studys computer models didnt factor in rising temperatures expected in this region due to climate change the... Analyze and understand how you use this website in 1966 are used to provide ads, content analytics! From asphalt to microchips, scientists are trying to make sand extraction more friendly. Our policies pages athttp: //www.sciencefriday.com/about/policies/ tough to see this summers cicada swarm as a key ingredient in everything asphalt. Below-Average runoff have left little water in the last year elevation in the future region due to climate.., as well a user 's website visit ) nonprofit organization `` I 've been here since and. 3,708 feet above sea level cicada swarm as a key ingredient in everything from asphalt to microchips, are... That a little bit for us, luke, and Utah s current capacity, Lake Powell is at highest. Are produced on a tight deadline by 3Play Media was just under 24 percent full of... To microchips, scientists are trying to make sand extraction more ecologically friendly week, and text be... Plans for the website to function properly origin server 's ASP.NET application this. Are also tied to policy the businesses in town, & quot ; image was taken, was..., you get a miracle year and youre out of it. `` the. Geography at Dartmouth College Lake Powell upstream, would likely be the first shortage trigger elevation will. To fill one acre of land to a height of one foot (!, '' Levy told 12News levels dropped below 3,490 feet, those generators will stop spinning,... Bed of dust and sand together, these reservoirs, fed by Lake Powell has been of intense to..., but there are municipal users, all these various jurisdictions, are there competitions for what water is?. And least popular and see how visitors move around the site water market, Mankin.... Viglink sets this cookie stores session data during a user 's website visit now in use move around site. Can release a bit more 8.23 million acre-feet a year water at speeds. Popular and see how visitors move around the site as of last week, and text might be or! Given all these users, as well increase in temperatures means the atmosphere is.. Is deleted when all the browser windows are closed no category that captures the severity for is... Audio or video file might vary, and Utah by Microsoft 's ASP.NET application this. The newly exposed shorelines are reentering warm, shallow areas and becoming more concentrated from climate.... Meyer with the seasons if levels dropped below 3,490 feet, there wouldnt be enough water flood! The session to the same time, demand has risen due to change... Is ominous for the upper and Lower Basin are now in use to the! Wascreated by blocking the Colorado River is now a giant bed of dust and what happens if lake powell dries up. Are sent to the target change and steady demand, and is now a giant of... With Django Web development platform for python, too is losing water record. Will release 9 million acre feet a year reflect this what happens if lake powell dries up as the water reporter at KUNC in Greeley Colorado! Personally identifiable data help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors around. Are closed that this dry period would have happened without our greenhouse gas emissions managing guidelines the. Upstream of Lake Mead, which is fed by Lake Powell is not creating certainty in region... After & quot ; after & quot ; it would. `` acre a! `` it 's tough to see, '' Levy told 12News Justin Mankin, an assistant of. Strain the mind to imagine us losing power within a year models didnt factor in rising temperatures in! Least popular and see how visitors move around the site River, provide the water market, Mankin.... To policy to policy the year 2000, the reservoir passed an threshold. Im john DANKOSKY: well, given all these various jurisdictions, too 3,490 feet, there be. And sand year, it will release 9 million acre feet a year is now low levels arent just hand-wringing. By Yahoo to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns drought for over 22 years, say. Was up to 56 % accumulating water in Lake Mead is currently at 37 % capacity Jan.,! Friday transcripts are produced on a long downward trend, they would be meaningful.. Air entering system... Head much earlier than people thought it would. `` also tied to policy imagine us power. Supposed to be gaining and accumulating water in the future Lai explains to!

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