lake powell water level forecast 2022

Part of the Glen Canyon Conservancy Family, Utah D.O.T Charles Hall Ferry for UT Route 276. Both Moser and Lukas said that dry soil moisture conditions across the Colorado River Basin, which can sponge off valuable runoff before the water makes it into rivers and streams, wont be quite as bad as last year but will still be a negative factor. What's the weather forecast for 2050? Federal and state water managers have watched the water level in Lake Powell closely this year. The sediment-filled Colorado River appeared green-brown. She grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where she fell in love with the ecology and geology of the Sonoran desert. google_color_text = "000000"; The elevations listed in the August 2022 24-Month Study report reflected the projected physical elevations at each reservoir after implementing operations as described for water year 2023 tier determination purposes. To view the 2023 progession of snowpack above Lake Powell, click on Lake Powell Snow Chart. Today is day 151 of 365 for the Water Year 2023. As of Tuesday, February 28th, 2023 where elevation was 3521.04', Copyright Summit Technologies, Inc.1999 - 2023Site Views Today: 0Page Views Today: 0, The 28 tracked reservoirs above Lake Powell are currently at 58.69% of capacity. The forecast for water year 2023 unregulated inflow to Lake Powell, issued on January 5, 2023, by the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, projects that the most probable (median) unregulated inflow volume in water year 2023 will be 9.5 maf (99 percent of average). By May 1, the spring-summer runoff outcomes are pretty well locked in, which means theres virtually no escape from a third poor runoff year in a row, Jeff Lukas, an independent water and climate researcher based in Lafayette, said in an email. 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. Water levels in Narrow Canyon had dropped enough to show canyon floor features not visible in earlier images. The NOAA forecast center begins releasing monthly water supply forecasts for the Colorado River Basin in December. This is the big warning bell.. The lake held just 30 percent of its capacity. As the forecast season progresses, Among the dams on the Colorado is Arizonas Glen Canyon Dam, which creates Lake Powell. The water levels at Lake Powell have dropped around 100 feet in the last three years. Learn more at, Photos: Heron Lake, New Mexico, August 2022, Data viz: Elephant Butte Reservoir levels, to increase the volume, depth and power of journalism, https://www.watereducationcolorado.org/fresh-water-news/, www.watereducationcolorado.org/fresh-water-news/. Water managers, who . Boats docked at Lake Powell on July 13 . 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 Though the 2022 forecast isnt expected to be finalized until later this month, water officials expect that more water will have to be released from Upper Basin storage reservoirs this summer because inflows into the lake from the drought-stressed Colorado River are expected to be well below average again, in the 60% to 80% range. google_color_link = "0000FF"; Our editorial policy and donor list can be viewed atwateredco.org. The grim forecast comes as water officials race to bolster Lake Powell's water levels. Lund said that throughout the reservoir's history, it has refilled to its original levels just once. Wang suggests updating the reference period more frequently or using the last 20 years as the baseline. Lukas noted that the dry soil conditions are factored into the NOAA runoff predictions from the get-go so there shouldnt necessarily be any big surprises with that particular variable. We maintain a strict editorial firewall between our funders and our journalism. Lake Powell has several launch ramps along its 186-mile length. Lake Powell, Printable Version google_ad_width = 160; But generally below-normal precipitation the last several months after a very wet December.. The Colorado River flows from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado through the southwestern United States. We are 41% through the Water Year. 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. On April 8, Reclamation announced it would likely keep more water in Lake Powell, reducing releases from the planned 7.5 million acre-feet to 7 million acre-feet, a move that could trigger emergency water cutbacks in Arizona, California and Nevada. The February forecast for water year 2023 ranges from a minimum probable of 8.37 maf (87 percent of average) to a January forecasted maximum probable of 14.93 maf (155 percent of average) with the most probable forecast for water year 2023 of 10.44 maf (109 percent of average). Another 480 kaf will be left in Lake Powell by reducing Glen Canyon Dams annual release volume from 7.48 maf to 7.0 maf, as outlined in the 2007 Interim Guidelines that control operations of Glen Canyon Dam and Hoover Dam. Using the approach described in the immediately preceding paragraph, the August 2022 24-Month Study projected the January 1, 2023, Lake Powell elevation to be less than 3,525 feet. KNAUs Melissa Sevigny reports. The Colorado River cuts through dry land that was once covered by Lake Powell on September 7, 2022, near Hite, Utah. In the latter half of the decade, the drought eased somewhat. (2007). Please contact the Operations Group via e-mail at ResourceMgr@usbr.gov for additional information. He also was an associate editor at 5280 and a reporter for the Vail Daily. In order to restore Lake Powell's levels, one expert said people must conserve water in the Colorado River's lower basin. Projections of end of water year 2023 elevation using the February minimum and January maximum inflow forecast results are 3,544.04 feet and 3,582.24 feet, respectively. The March 2023 releases are anticipated to fluctuate between a low of 5,276 cfs to a high of 9,641 cfs. The lake level began to rebound; only the 2008 image appeared to deviate from the trend toward rising water levels. Wednesday snow and wind will be heavy at times leading to difficult if not impossible travel. 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. To view the current inflow forecast relative to past inflows, click on Lake Powell Inflow Forecast. . It can store about five times the average annual flow. Close Become a member Login My Account Logout Search for:Search News Education Health Coloradans Equity Sun Investigation Crime and Courts Culture Sports Low water effects to launch ramps and services top Lake Powell Elevation (05/18/2022) 3526.05 ft Stay in the know! //2006-10-04: news google_ad_client = "pub-0146338466817273"; Despite those releases, Powell dropped below 3,525 last month, hitting 3,523, another historic drought landmark. Sunlight brightens plateaus and southeast-facing slopes, casting shadows on the northern and western faces of the rugged landscape. If you have feedback on content, format, or publication frequency, please contact us. 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. Lake Powells water levels plummeted in early 2005, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation. Electricity produced at Lake Powells Glen Canyon Dam, which serves some 50 Colorado utilities, and dozens of others in the Colorado River Basin, has been cut in half by the 20-year drought, with power levels over the next two years projected to be 47% lower than normal, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Colorado River Basin Water Management: Evaluating and Adjusting to Hydroclimatic Variability. Surface Water Elevation (feet) Lake Powell End of Month Elevations1 . 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. Were an initiative of theCenter for Environmental Journalismat the University of Colorado Boulder. :pNB/gb2D0p6Ecb :qD_q7wE42TOOSW:Oa^(-]p7y|iZ.8uq:}1y3bJ]!G ) ytRdJp2 +[|}QpEU}V'k{yeKud"xl_-x lJ!UZ`,n!\3{dcb Jerd Smith is editor of Fresh Water News. (Due to the angle of sunlight, this image may cause an optical illusion known as relief inversion.). Specifically, Reclamation modeled operations in WY 2023 as follows in the August and September 24-Month Studies: In accordance with the May 3rd Letter, consistent with the provisions of the 2007 Interim Guidelines, and to preserve the benefits to Glen Canyon Dam facilities from 2022 Operations into 2023 and 2024, Reclamation will consult with the Basin States on monthly and annual operations. https://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/news-release/4294, https://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/#/news-release/4196, USGS site #09180500 - Colorado River near Cisco, UT, USGS site #09315000 - Green River at Green River, UT, USGS site #09379500 - San Juan River near Bluff, UT, USGS site #09380000 - Colorado River at Lees Ferry, AZ, Snowpack Conditions Upper Colorado Region Above Lake Powell, Lake Powell Inflow Forecast April-July Inflow Forecast, Current Water Year Inflow Forecast Monthly Outlooks, Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program, LTEMP - Long-Term Experimental & Management Plan, Report to Congress - Operations of Glen Canyon Dam - Water Year 2015-2016, National Park Service Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, National Park Service Grand Canyon National Park, U.S. monthly forecasts become more accurate. The amount of water predicted to flow into Lake Powell this year is down slightly from the previous month, according to the May report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Colorado Basin River Forecast Center. The peak inflow to Lake Powell occurs in mid- to late spring, as the winter snow in the Rocky Mountains melts. Note that projections of elevation and storage for water year 2023 have significant uncertainty at this point in the season. Under system normal conditions, fluctuations for regulation are typically short lived and generally balance out over the hour with minimal or no noticeable impacts on downstream river flow conditions. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. google_ad_format = "160x600_as"; This was the lowest water levels have been since the lake was first constructed in the 1930s. These instantaneous release adjustments stabilize the electrical generation and transmission system and translate to a range of about 1,300 cfs above or below the hourly scheduled release rate. Based on the current forecast of 10.44 maf unregulated inflow for water year 2023, the February 24-Month Study projects Lake Powell elevation will end water year 2023 near 3555.45 feet with approximately 7.47 maf in storage (32 percent of capacity). levels. But the declining water already has drained some of the fun, he said. A century of river flow records combined with an additional four to five centuries of tree-ring data show that the droughts over the past two decades were not unusual; longer and more severe droughts are a regular part of the climate variability in that part of the continent. The unregulated inflow volume to Lake Powell during January was 361 thousand acre-feet (kaf) (107 percent of average). Updated: 10:18 PM MDT April 26, 2022 DENVER Lake Powell, on the Utah-Arizona state line, is part of a river system that supplies water to 40 million people. google_color_bg = "FFFFFF"; Antelope Point Marina on Feb. 3, 2022, in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area near Page. inflow forecast for water year 2022 by approximately 2.2 million acre-feet from . average basin temperatures and precipitation for the forecast period. Lake Powell has fallen victim to excessive water use as a 20-year drought parches the region. The picture was much different 59 years ago, when the giant storage reservoir on the Colorado River was filling, its electricity helping power the West and the revenue from its power sales helping fund endangered fish protection programs across the Colorado River Basin. Lake Powell