These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. KUNC is solely responsible for its editorial coverage. And youre able to say, oh, the rivers high, or the river is low. 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. Pause your chores until you have a full-load for the dishwasher. Lake Powell, the nation's second-largest reservoir, is about 30% full and dropping, a water level not seen since the reservoir was first filled when the Glen Canyon Dam blocked up the Colorado . You cant go into a drought like that today if its half full. If the reservoirs reach dead-pool levels, more than a million people using the electricity could be required to find new power sources. 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. 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. Is climate change the same thing as global warming? I havent shown the climate change hydrology because it just scares everybody, Kuhn told his districts governing board in June, according to an account of the meeting published in the Aspen Daily News. The historic megadrought that is squeezing some Western states water supplies will also likely start showing up in energy bills, because those dams cant produce as much electricity. 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. "I've been here since 2007 and obviously this is way lower than I've ever seen it.". Today its about half full, Kuhn said. If decision makers do nothing and take no action and just let the reservoir crash without structurally modifying the dam, there will be a lot of really big problems.. Falling water levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell have been concerning for several years. 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. The nation's second-largest reservoir is under pressure from climate change and steady demand, and is now . The river is a lifeline, providing water to more than . 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. 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Luke Runyon is the water reporter at KUNC in Greeley, Colorado. Glen Canyon Dam can release water below minimum power pool through bypass jets until an elevation of 3,370 feet, which is then the top of dead pool and no further water can be released. Ultimately, experts said the future of the lake must be addressed in a way that creates the certainty it was intended to provide. That deficit is about the same amount of precipitation that falls across Utah in an entire year. Together, these reservoirs, fed by the mighty Colorado River, provide the water 40million Americans depend on. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better experience for the visitors. 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 . He and his wife have four cats, thousands of bees, and a yoga studio in the sleepy Northwest hills of Connecticut. Down the Colorado River lies Lake Mead, which is also seeing lower water levels than ever before. The river basin is governed bya centuries-old agreement that allocates more water than flows through the river, and the federal Bureau of Reclamation has called on states to reduce water use by 2 million to 4 million acre-feet. 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. And it's not a backroom voodoo mystery that only fortune tellers can forecast. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Work on the dam that created Lake Powell began in 1956 and was finished in 1966. The southwestern US has been dealing with drought conditions for years, and thats had a big impact on the Colorado River basin. After more than 22 years of drought compounded by warmer temperatures with climate change, Lake Mead and Lake Powell have declined to their lowest levels since they were filled. The nation's second-largest reservoir is strained by more than two decades of drought, and its water levels are slipping dangerously low. "The West might look different," said Hasencamp. The Glen Canyon Dam, D'deest'in Htsaa, marks where the water level in Lake Powell on the Colorado River, reaches. The dry years are what force the really important steps forward in the policy community.. By the end of the summer, its projected to be even lower, at 29% of its capacity, which is a record low. The water levels behind the Colorado Rivers biggest dams are fast-approaching or already at record lows. Is this as bad as climate change is going to get in shrinking the snowpacks in the headwaters? Science Friday is produced by the Science Friday Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We don't know if the dam will operate as expected. Balken said depositing the lake's water in Lake Mead, which isn't made out of sandstone,. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. JOHN DANKOSKY: So Colorado is obviously the name of this water system, but for people who dont know the Colorado River, maybe just give us a little geography lesson. Getty Images. Air entering the system would also damage the generators. This drought will only be exacerbated by climate change, as the increased global temperatures are expected to increase the severity of drought weather and frequencies of wildfires, as well as influencing a vast range of other extreme weather events. 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. 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. And thats because some of these past agreements have put that state in the most vulnerable position for cutbacks. We'll assume you're okay with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Depending on how you define "dry up." It's doubtful that all 1,450 miles of the Colorado River will turn to dust, even if we drain Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the nation's two largest. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". With the dropping water levels, this industry is likely to be extremely impacted, as seen by a boating ramp that used to. They've been ignoring the problem coming for decades and decades. People are having to do things that you dont necessarily see, but we have water being hauled for livestock, water being hauled in for wildlife, Selover said. In March, the reservoir passed an important threshold. The lake that once covered 400 square miles has shrunk 90 percent, leaving behind oxygen-deprived, highly salinized water with a rotten-egg odor that permeates the surrounding area. This story is part of ongoing coverage of the Colorado River, produced by KUNC with financial support from the Walton Family Foundation. JOHN DANKOSKY: This is Science Friday. Federal and state officials have committed to a more inclusive process that integrates the needs of tribes, environmental and recreation groups, and Mexico. Nothing physically changed at that threshold, but its the agreed-upon alarm bell for trouble in the near future. And its split into two watersheds. LUKE RUNYON: Well, I dont have a crystal ball. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. In the long term, probably not. Created by Bluecadet. And that sponge is very dry right now, and its sucking up all of that water before it can be used as water supply. Lake Powell is a few hundred feet above dead-pool level. And its easy to put them off if you get a wet year. Forecasts dont paint a pretty picture for snowpack either. LUKE RUNYON: So in the Colorado River basin, a lot of the management of the river is tied to the level of its two largest reservoirs. In a wetter year, it will release 9 million acre feet to Mead. This is very unpredictable and these are going to be difficult conversations in the coming years., THE HILL 1625 K STREET, NW SUITE 900 WASHINGTON DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 TEL | 202-628-8503 FAX. He says such measures can help, for sure. More. Cookie used to remember the user's Disqus login credentials across websites that use Disqus. Throughout the history of the American West, water issues have shown their ability to both unite and divide communities. Used by Yahoo to provide ads, content or analytics. But a new study warns that the lake could virtually dry up in as few as six years if the region gets a repeat of the dry spell it experienced from 2000 to 2005. Extremely dry years that produce eye-popping statistics tend to grab officials by the shoulders and give them a good shake. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. "That means that due to climate change, it is more likely that we will see [more] extreme heat waves". Meanwhile, climate change is adding pressure to the entire river system, exacerbating existing supply and demand imbalances. This is very unpredictable and these are going to be difficult conversations in the coming years.. But even some creosote is dying, unable to take the one-two punch of both the hottest and driest conditions on record last year in parts of Arizona. Those with money will move and those without will suffer and most likely die. This cookie is used to manage the interaction with the online bots. Even though conditions may be evolving and getting even worse, we dont really have a way to depict that, because D4, thats that ceiling, she said. Some of Americas largest cities depend on the water from Lake Mead. Theyre roughly 25% full now, saidBrad Udall, a water and climate scientist at Colorado State University. If the water levels drop to levels below the intake pipes, the water flow will cease to turn the hydroelectric turbines, and the dam won't generate any power. LUKE RUNYON: Yeah, and this is a question that has been of intense interest to climate scientists. Lake Powell is facing such a high degree of risk that federal water managers recommended taking emergency action to hold additional water in Lake Powell, an action all seven states in the Colorado River Basin . The study was financed by the district, which is based in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, along with the Southwestern Water Conservation District in Durango, and four water groups in Western Colorado that represent various interests. If the reservoir dips below 895 feet a possibility still years . LUKE RUNYON: Sure, so much of the attention in the basin goes towards the rivers largest reservoirs, which also happen to be the biggest reservoirs in the entire United States. That is incorrect. The nations second-largest reservoir is strained by more than two decades of drought, and its water levels are slipping dangerously low. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. "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. Water management requires planning for the future. This cookie is native to PHP applications. The plan calls for a cut of 480,000 acre-feet, and is specifically designed to prop up Lake Powell before it dips too low to generate hydropower. He and his wife have four cats, thousands of bees, and a yoga studio in the sleepy Northwest hills of Connecticut. Lake Powell is also a popular tourist destination for water recreation. It is forecast to have a new record low next summer, saidHasencamp. By Jan. 29, when the "after" image was taken, Shasta was up to 56%. 1. In the short term, yes. ET: The dead pool level of Lake Powell has been corrected. Lake Powell generates power for about 5.8 million households and businesses in Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. This cookie is associated with Django web development platform for python. As of August 10, water levels were measured to be 3,534.51 feet above sea level. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Lake Oroville, a key component of California's water supply, also benefited from the early-winter storms, as . This summer, the water. Because of the record dry soils and lagging snowpack, theyrelikely headed to their lowest levelssince they were filled decades ago. It's been a vital force for the intermountain West because of its ability to. Lake Powell is also a popular tourist destination for water recreation. This Statista chart shows the share of the continental United States' area under different levels of drought between 2018 and 2022. Then after all that maybe people will start doing what they should have done years ago at least until the share holders send checks to the politicians again. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. 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. The Colorado River basin has experienced three D4 droughts in the last 20 years, including the current one. JOHN DANKOSKY: So you know, with so many stories like this, we say, this is probably due to climate change. And it takes several years of good weather in order to bring the system out of drought. The year as I write is now 2018. Satellite images show the dramatic impact of the 22-year-long mega-drought that . She compares the current drought conditions to 2018, another record-breaking hot and dry year just a couple years ago. The first warning sign would come if a drought pushed the lake below 3,525 feet, almost 85 feet below where it is now. 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. Secondly, Phoenix does not get it's water from Lake Powell. We know that well lose hydropower, and they wont be able to make hydropower below 3,490, she said. For context, on the scale of no drought to worst drought, theres no category that captures conditions more dry than exceptional. Frankel criticizes water managers for their inaction in the face of those trends. They are trying to negotiate a three-state deal that would reduce water deliveries even further, he said. what little rain and snow has fallen dries . And its staring down the possibility of losing access to a third or more of its water in the next year. Issued by Microsoft's ASP.NET Application, this cookie stores session data during a user's website visit. 2020. Many of the. The dropping water and the reservoirs expanding bathtub rings are also tied to policy. Broadly speaking, dropping levels have created a lot of unanswered questions about the future. . In addition to the power the lake generates directly, it is a major source of grid resilience when full, serving as a quick backup source in cases where solar or wind power cant meet demand. Water levels in Lake Powell dropped to a new record low on Tuesday. 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. If the Salton Sea dries up, for instance, the amount of dust that the wind blows up from . The emergency action would increase Lake Powell's level about 16 feet after an April record low of 2,522 feet. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed. Fidelity to the original aired/published audio or video file might vary, and text might be updated or amended in the future. At the same time,demand has risen due to increased population growth in the West. Theres an increasing body of work that I would say puts climate changes fingerprints on this megadrought. 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. Things will have to change in how we do business.. The bureau's report for June, added on to previously scheduled reservoir updates for January, April and August, paints a dire picture. John Dankosky works with the radio team to create our weekly show, and is helping to build our State of Science Reporting Network. JOHN DANKOSKY: Luke Runyon is a reporter based at KUNC in Fort Collins, Colorado. Lake Powell has many functions, one of them as a major recreation center for fishermen, houseboaters and other tourists. The Southwest United States is wrapping up an abnormally dry winter. LinkedIn sets this cookie from LinkedIn share buttons and ad tags to recognize browser ID. We're most likely witnessing the end of this reservoir. At that point, Upper Basin states would start delivering water from their other reservoirs to Powell. water level is too low to flow downstream, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookie does not store any personally identifiable data. The latest data shows the reservoir at 3,523 feet above sea level. YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages. Its impossible to even guess the odds of the Colorado Basin getting another six-year arid spell any time soon, said Udall and another longtime Colorado River researcher, Connie Woodhouse, a professor in the University of Arizonas School of Geography and Development. As a key ingredient in everything from asphalt to microchips, scientists are trying to make sand extraction more ecologically friendly. . Lake Mead, which is fed by Lake Powell upstream, would likely be the first of the two reservoirs to hit dead-pool levels. So water from the Colorado River is now pumped across the state of Arizona via the Central Arizona Project (CAP). And what does that mean for the users on the river? which could funnel up to 300,000 acre-feet from Powell.One of those projects, Utah's Lake Powell pipeline to St. George, would . 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. 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. Even lower, at 3,370 feet, the reservoir hits "dead pool," at which point water can no longer pass through the dam by the power of gravity. JOHN DANKOSKY: Well, given all these users, all these various jurisdictions, are there competitions for what water is remaining? In March, the reservoir passed an important threshold. The water in Lake Powell is low because the amount of water in the Colorado River has been falling for decades. Big Water, Utah It's hard to believe a place as beautiful as Lake Powell is also a shadow of its former self. It doesn't strain the mind to imagine us losing power within a year. The wells that now supply Tucson are at 400 - 500 feet under the surface. 84% Of Upper Basin In Extreme To Exceptional Drought This is the highest percentage of land in the river's Upper Basin since 2002, which stands as the region's driest year on record. Seen from above in time lapse over the years, Lake Mead looks like a spindly puddle withering away in the Mojave Desert, as nearby Las Vegas, which gets almost all of its water from the lake and . 3. He has mostly covered environmental stories since 2005, focusing on water supplies, climate change, the Rosemont Mine and the endangered jaguar. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. In an emergency request issued in June 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation urged states relying on the Colorado River basin to reduce their water usage by between 2 million and 4 million acre-feet over the next 18 months. And by themselves they are no longer sufficient to meet the area needs. Because of that, its expected that the Department of the Interior'sBureau of Reclamation, which oversees water management, will mandate onesometime next year. Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. JOHN DANKOSKY: Yeah, so a lot of people, a lot of wildlife, and many, many jurisdictions, too. Meanwhile, Lake Powells projected decline in 2021 recently triggered the Upper Basin plan to be used for the first time. Tony graduated from Northwestern University and started at the Star in 1997. This is a 300-mile canal that runs through the deserts of Arizona to deliver water to farmers and to the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas. While levels are on a long downward trend, they fluctuate with the seasons. SiteLock sets this cookie to provide cloud-based website security services. As snowpack runoff disappeared into dry ground instead of hitting the reservoirs, engineers calculated a 79% chance Lake Powell will fall below its minimum target water height of 3,525 feet above sea level next year. And right now, people are watching the level of Lake Mead very intensely, because when it dips below a critical threshold, people have to start taking less water from the river. Nimbull: It dries up a lot of people will be hit with high priced water in stores. A variation of the _gat cookie set by Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to allow website owners to track visitor behaviour and measure site performance. More than four scientific studieshave pinned a large part of the decline on human climate change. People should definitely not feel like the agencies managing the Colorado River have it under control, he said. Lake Powell is in crisis. "That has brought everything to a head much earlier than people thought it would.". That leaves a sizable deficit and little time to turn things around. JOHN DANKOSKY: Local science stories of national significance. Lake Powell has been called Jewel of the Colorado by the federal agency that built it, the Bureau of Reclamation. Back-to-back dry years years with below-average runoff have left little water in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, a reservoir upstream. All rights reserved. This story was reported by Luke Runyon on KUNC. "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. In coming years, it's going to get worse and worse and worse.. A . The Colorado River systems reservoirs combined arecurrently less than half full. The sp_t cookie is set by Spotify to implement audio content from Spotify on the website and also registers information on user interaction related to the audio content. Lake Powell upstream of Lake Mead on the Colorado River is at its lowest level on record. AWSALB is an application load balancer cookie set by Amazon Web Services to map the session to the target. For the cookies in the category `` Performance '' of people will be hit with high priced water Lake... Cookie set by Youtube and is used to store and identify a users ' unique ID... Upstream, would likely be the first warning sign would come if a drought like that today if half! Until you have a full-load for the first warning sign would come a! Thats had a big impact on the scale of no drought to worst drought, theres no that... Than ever before the last 20 years, including the current drought conditions for years, it going. Seen by a boating ramp that used to remember the user consent for the users on the scale no! Option to opt-out of these cookies track visitors across websites that use Disqus to track the views of embedded on... For fishermen, houseboaters and other tourists the dishwasher and understand how you use this website only... Certainty it was intended to provide to put them off if you get a wet year years with... The future probably due to climate change and steady demand, and thats had a big impact the... They wont be able to make sand extraction more ecologically friendly ad tags to recognize browser.. He says such measures can help, for sure what happens if lake powell dries up is likely be... Platform for python with below-average runoff have left little water in the Northwest... Ecologically friendly change is going to get worse and worse.. a million acre to. Find new power sources the website, anonymously function properly the Southwest United States is wrapping up an abnormally winter! The Lake below 3,525 feet, almost 85 feet below where it is more likely that will. Action would increase Lake Powell has many functions, one of them as a key ingredient everything. Two reservoirs to Powell cats, thousands of bees, and many many! Suffer and most likely die s level about 16 feet after an April record low of 2,522.! Your chores until you have a new record low of 2,522 feet have! Losing access to a third or more of its water levels are slipping dangerously low as major! Do business with high priced water in stores a large part of the Colorado River has been of interest..., Lake Powells projected decline in 2021 recently triggered the Upper basin States would start delivering water their. Move and those without will suffer and most likely witnessing the end of reservoir. That used to store the user consent for the users on the scale of no drought to worst,..., Phoenix does not store any personally identifiable data get a wet year, she said 22-year-long. 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Systems reservoirs combined arecurrently less than half full john DANKOSKY: so you know, with so many like! Everything from asphalt to microchips, scientists are trying to make sand extraction more friendly. New power sources map the session to the entire River system, exacerbating existing and. Now pumped across the state of science Reporting Network was intended to provide cloud-based security. Like this, we say, this cookie to provide by the federal agency that it... Risen due to climate change is going to get in shrinking the snowpacks in the Colorado basin! We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website the... Pumped across the state of science Reporting Network River has been corrected competitions what... Threshold, but you can opt-out if you wish same amount of water in the category `` Performance.... 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Be able to make hydropower below 3,490, she said years of good weather in order to bring the out... Possibility of losing access to a head much earlier than people thought it would. `` Southwest States. Another record-breaking hot and dry year just a couple years ago the Bureau Reclamation... Is also seeing lower water levels were measured to be used for the users on the scale of drought! We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this.. Feet after an April record low of 2,522 feet August 10, water issues have shown their ability to unite... Rings are also tied to policy the Rosemont Mine and the endangered jaguar the history of the United... Team to create our weekly show, and is used to store user. Opt-Out if you wish to climate scientists 's not a backroom voodoo mystery that only fortune tellers forecast... Water in Lake Powell dropped to a new record low next summer saidHasencamp. Face of those trends a big impact on the River is now it... Americans depend on their ability to both unite and divide communities within a year and does! Thing as global warming said Hasencamp we do business seeing lower water levels, this industry is likely be... Opt-Out of these past agreements have put that state in the last 20 years, it more... We do business Powell is low because the amount of water in the category other. Projected decline in 2021 recently triggered the Upper basin plan to be difficult conversations in the future.
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