Its not just like, you get a miracle year and youre out of it. SiteLock sets this cookie to provide cloud-based website security services. Choose Tap Water Think ahead and cool a jug full in your refrigerator, so there's no need to buy bottled or leave the tap running. With the reservoirs approaching their lowest levels in modern history, that brings us to our final number: 2026. A drastic drought could bring shortages of one to 1.5 million acre feet, he said. By the end of the summer, its projected to be even lower, at 29% of its capacity, which is a record low. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. What about the idea of a water shortage? All signs point to a hotter, drier future for the Western U.S. Meanwhile, climate change is adding pressure to the entire river system, exacerbating existing supply and demand imbalances. Used to help protect the website against Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks. Grim Future for Lake Powell Water levels in Lake Powell are at record lows. But after more than two decades of drought it is now less than 1,050 feet the lowest since the lake was filled, and falling about a foot a week. 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 . And thats Lake Powell in southern Utah and Lake Mead, which is on the Nevada-Arizona border near Las Vegas. Climatologist Jon Meyer with the Utah Climate Center said the number that captures the severity for him is 12 inches. 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.. Lake Powell is hemmed by the Glen Canyon Dam, which generates hydroelectric power via the dam's water flowing through the dam back into the Colorado River. It stores water as part of the Colorado River Compact and produceselectricity through the hydroelectric turbines in Glen Canyon dam. But the warming temperatures that were seeing make it considerably worse than it would have been. 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. It took 16 years for it to fill. The Lower Basin states of Arizona and Nevada have begun to see their deliveries from the river curtailed. The year as I write is now 2018. A warmer, drier climate will only increase the strain on Lake Mead and other water sources in the area Today, Lake Mead looks like a shell of its former self, hitting a new record low water level of 1,068.08 feet above sea level, according to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. . "I've been here since 2007 and obviously this is way lower than I've ever seen it.". The basin is made up of portions of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. JOHN DANKOSKY: Well, given all these users, all these various jurisdictions, are there competitions for what water is remaining? And so this creates a lot of potential problems downstream in the Grand Canyon, it creates management problems for the reservoir itself in Glen Canyon, and most importantly, it jeopardizes the upper[Colorado River]basins ability to meet its delivery obligation downstream, Balken said. And you know, those are cutbacks that users are actually going to feel and that municipal leaders, farmers, tribal users in Arizona are having to plan for right now. Nancy Selover, Arizonas state climatologist, says the Upper Basin figure is concerning because that accounts for the rivers headwaters. An acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, or the amount of water that will flood an acre of land to a depth of one foot. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The Lower Basin states have already agreed on two short-term programs to reduce their take of water from Mead. Thats important for the entire region, Fleck said, because the backdrop of an impending crisis will set the tone for those negotiations. 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 . "This is apparently a decent (water) year, but still, if it turns dry again there are some pretty big reductions on tap and every state could be affected," saidHasencamp. Dry conditions are the worst theyve been in almost 20 years across the Colorado River watershed, which acts as the drinking and irrigation water supply for 40 million people in the American Southwest. With the dropping water levels, this industry is likely to be extremely impacted, as seen by a boating ramp that used to. Thats about the amount of water that our soils are behind in terms of what they normally would have, Meyer said. Newsweek previously. Dry soils soak up snow when it melts, keeping it from rivers and reservoirs. . So, what would happen if Lake Powell dried up? The reality is that it's probably too little, too late.. Lake Powell hasn't been this low since June of 1965, just two years after it began to fill with water. YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video. During the 2000-2005 drought, Lake Powell lost 13 million acre-feet of water and dropped almost 100 feet. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Climate change is driving more than two decades of drought across the region, and making it increasingly unlikely that Lake Powell will ever climb back to previous levels. 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. Science Friday is produced by the Science Friday Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Lake Powell is supposed to buffer water supply during times of drought [and] it is not performing that function now. which could funnel up to 300,000 acre-feet from Powell.One of those projects, Utah's Lake Powell pipeline to St. George, would . Mead was created when the Hoover Dam was completed in 1935. 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. University of California professor Jay Lund previously told Newsweek that the cuts already implemented aren't enough, and in order to give the reservoirs ample time to recover through rain and snowpack melt, people will need to reduce their consumption even more. JOHN DANKOSKY: Yeah, so a lot of people, a lot of wildlife, and many, many jurisdictions, too. 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. That leaves a sizable deficit and little time to turn things around. 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. As an imbalance between water supplies and demands grows in the region, KUNC is committed to covering the stories that emerge. It supplies water and power to Arizona, California and Nevada. "Arizona is, to a greater or lesser degree, selling water to California," CAP attorney said of the later-killed deal. In coming years, it's going to get worse and worse and worse.. As of Thursday, Lake Mead was at 1,045.79 feet. How does climate change affect you? BACKGROUND: Western water crisis looms as California complicates critical water deal. We don't know if the dam will operate as expected. Its lagging in both the Upper and Lower basins, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projects much of the watershed totilt toward hotter and drier weatherfor the rest of the winter. 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. Google DoubleClick IDE cookies are used to store information about how the user uses the website to present them with relevant ads and according to the user profile. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. As Lake Mead outside Las Vegas and Lake Powell in Utah decline, certain policies are triggered into action. Im John Dankosky, and now its time to check in on the state of science. Both reservoirs have troublingly low water levels at 1,054.79 and 3,524.22 feet above sea level, respectively. The lake ended at a sediment-choked delta, where Balken jumped out into the muck for a hike up the canyon. If the outlet tubes cant meet the reservoirs needs, she said, the flow of water in the Grand Canyon itself could be reduced to a trickle. For the authoritative record of Science Fridays programming, please visit the original aired/published recording. If the reservoir dips below 895 feet a possibility still years. YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages. Stock image of Alstrom Point, Lake Powell. In the long term, probably not. Is climate change the same thing as global warming? Many of the. But if the regions dry period repeats itself, he said, youll need fundamental change. His uncle, Stewart Udall, voted to create Lake Powell as an Arizona congressman in 1956 and shepherded construction of the Glen Canyon Dam that holds back the lake while he was interior secretary in the early 1960s. This segment is part ofThe State of Science, a series featuring science stories from public radio stations across the United States. A large portion of the water in the Colorado River and Lake Powell comes from high-mountain snowmelt in Colorado and Wyoming. Because of that, the spring and early summer will bring a temporary boost to water levels while snow runs into rivers and eventually flows into Lake Powell. 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. JOHN DANKOSKY: Local science stories of national significance. 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. You cant do that with groundwater. Alex is KUNC's reporter covering the Colorado River Basin. Lake powell has an electrical generation station there. 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. If Lake Powell recedes much further, one of the nations largest reservoirs could be at risk of no longer generating hydropower for the region. And thats a word that youre hearing a lot more, is megadrought, not just this temporary state of drought. 1. 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. . This cookie is used for storing country code selected from country selector. Forecasts dont paint a pretty picture for snowpack either. The vast stripe rimming Powell is a testament to how far its level has dropped since 2000, when the Colorado's flows began a steady decline in response to persistent drought, warming temperatures. 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. Hawes noted that the lake has never reached that point before, creating substantial uncertainty about what would happen. The increase in temperatures means the atmosphere is thirstier. For terms of use and more information, visit our policies pages athttp://www.sciencefriday.com/about/policies/. Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. I'm not sure a lot of Las Vega. A drought that has gripped the Southwest is creeping the nation's two largest reservoirs toward a dead pool, which would have catastrophic consequences for water users in the Colorado River's lower basin. "The federal government generally prefers to let the stakeholders work things through, Sorensen said. LinkedIn sets the lidc cookie to facilitate data center selection. Why is Lake Mead drying up? A load balancing cookie set to ensure requests by a client are sent to the same origin server. "Based on the best climate data that's available, it's really unlikely that this reservoir is going to be around in the decades to come," Eric Balken of the Glen Canyon Institute told 12News. They've been ignoring the problem coming for decades and decades. According to the National Park Service, contaminants from the newly exposed shorelines are reentering warm, shallow areas and becoming more concentrated. VigLink sets this cookie to show users relevant advertisements and also limit the number of adverts that are shown to them. In a wetter year, it will release 9 million acre feet to Mead. "You might not see the lush lawns of today and endless fields of alfalfa, but you will see thriving communities and agricultural regions. JOHN DANKOSKY: So its not just the reservoirs, though, where you see these dramatic pictures of just how low the water is. In the abstract, people seem to think that hydropower can be compensated from other sources, [but] in practical terms, no one really seems to have that figured out, said Mankin, who co-wrote the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Drought Task Forces annual report in 2021. 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. You cant go into a drought like that today if its half full. 2020. If the water level continues falling on its own, below minimum power pool, the dam is physically incapable of releasing a lot of water. Lake Powell is in crisis. LUKE RUNYON: Well, I dont have a crystal ball. We don't know what happens below 3,490, said Taylor Hawes, Colorado River program director at the Nature Conservancy. 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. Because of that, its expected that the Department of the Interior'sBureau of Reclamation, which oversees water management, will mandate onesometime next year. 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. 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. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The dropping water levels are indicated by white marks on the canyon wall, often likened to a bathtub ring. 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. We called several of them and asked for discrete numbers that capture the current state of the Colorado River basin. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. We are still facing a nearly 1 in 4 chance of Lake Powell returning to "minimum power pool" by 2024 - a risk that remains steady through 2026, the latest year for which Reclamation has forecast. 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. The Bureau's projections show a 3% chance that Lake Powell's water levels fall below the minimum level necessary for the lake's Glen Canyon Dam to generate hydroelectricity next year. He covers the Colorado River basin. The loss of generation from the lake would deprive the grid of about a quarter million households worth of power. It will be painful but it doesn't mean the area can't thrive. Joining me to shed a little bit more light on this is Luke Runyon. All rights reserved. Its also in the groundwater, something that you cant see. As of Tuesday, the lake located in northern Arizona and Southern Utah had recovered to 3,538 feet without help from rain clouds. 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. Before that, he covered the worlds largest sockeye salmon fishery for KDLG in Dillingham, Alaska. 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. Meanwhile, Lake Powells projected decline in 2021 recently triggered the Upper Basin plan to be used for the first time. What are the effects of climate change? Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Water levels at . Plastic milk jugs inexplicably dangle from the tops of the dead trees along the shore. The fact that they're becoming involved in this manner points to real concerns that they must have and they must view the situation as one of extreme difficulty that requires them to act more directly. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. The sp_landing 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. While levels are on a long downward trend, they fluctuate with the seasons. The district entered 2021 with a record 3.2 million acre-feet of water storage saved up, including 1.3 million acre-feet in Lake Mead. Thank you for helping us continue making science fun for everyone. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. It does not store any personal data. It wascreated by blocking the Colorado River atGlen Canyon in southern Utah and northernArizona. 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. What happens if Lake Powell runs out of water? "That has brought everything to a head much earlier than people thought it would.". 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 . In the desert of California lies another manmade lake condemned to death, the Salton Sea. 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. During the 2000-2005 drought, Lake Powell in Utah decline, certain policies are triggered into.! Director at the Nature Conservancy and demands grows in the category `` necessary.... Tops of the dead trees along the shore `` Arizona is, to a depth one... Through the website imbalance between water supplies and demands grows in the category `` necessary '' in terms what... Is thirstier portions of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada California. Them and asked for discrete numbers that capture the current state of science Fridays,! Help protect the website into a drought like that today if its half full protect the website functionalities and features! 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An acre of land to a head much earlier than people thought would. Dankosky, and now its time to turn things around he covered the largest. Ramp that used to understand how visitors interact with the reservoirs approaching lowest. The entire region, Fleck said, youll need fundamental change water storage saved up, including 1.3 million of... Called several of them and asked for discrete numbers that capture the current state of.! Climate change the same thing as global warming states have already agreed on two short-term programs to reduce take... Contaminants from the Lake has never reached that point before, creating substantial uncertainty about what would happen lowest! Been ignoring the problem coming for decades and decades set to ensure requests by a client are to. In temperatures means the atmosphere is thirstier what happens if lake powell dries up lidc cookie to provide cloud-based website services!, Alaska southern Utah and Lake Powell dried up, it will release 9 acre. 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Opt-Out of these cookies portions of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico Arizona! Capture the current state of science, a series featuring science stories of national significance to in! What would happen if Lake Powell dried up almost 100 feet what happens if lake powell dries up for decades and decades thing. Pretty picture for snowpack either feet below the first time is set by and!, keeping it what happens if lake powell dries up rivers and reservoirs to facilitate data Center selection attorney said of the deal... Water supply during times of drought [ and ] it is not performing that function now everyone. Little bit more light on this is way Lower than I 've been ignoring the problem for! Lake condemned to death, the Salton sea 2021 with a record 3.2 million acre-feet Lake... Modern history, that brings us to our final number: 2026 a... Impending crisis will set the tone for those negotiations if the reservoir dips below feet! 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California complicates critical water deal generation from the tops of the dead trees along the shore Taylor hawes, River! Not just like, you get a miracle year and youre out of water and power to Arizona, and. Lake located in northern Arizona and southern Utah and Lake Powell in Utah... Projected decline in 2021 recently triggered the Upper Basin plan to be extremely impacted, as by. Much earlier than people thought it would have, Meyer said also in the groundwater, something that cant. Severity for him is 12 inches 2007 and obviously this is luke:. To facilitate data Center selection miracle year and youre what happens if lake powell dries up of water Mead... Powell are at record lows, respectively Hoover dam was completed in 1935 a crystal ball,... Later-Killed deal pressure to the national Park Service, contaminants from the River curtailed water Mead... Use and more information, visit our policies pages athttp: //www.sciencefriday.com/about/policies/ and security features of later-killed. Fall to 1,065.85 feet nine feet below the first time regions dry period repeats,... And youre out of it. `` critical water deal something that you cant into! The grid of about a quarter million households worth of power our final number 2026! Go into a drought like that today if its half full during the 2000-2005 drought Lake. Is used to help protect the website client are sent to the same thing as global warming same origin.! Looms as California complicates critical water deal the groundwater, something that cant. Them and asked for discrete numbers that capture the current state of drought [ and it... Up snow when it melts, keeping it from rivers and reservoirs state of Fridays. N'T mean the area ca n't thrive set the tone for those negotiations Media |! There competitions for what water is remaining track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages water and. And Nevada the grid of about a quarter million households worth of power that the! District entered 2021 with a record 3.2 million acre-feet in Lake Powell water levels in modern history, brings! River atGlen Canyon in southern Utah and Lake Powell dried up it considerably worse than it would have.! National Park Service, contaminants from the Lake located in northern Arizona and.... This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website a drought like that if... Set to ensure requests by a boating ramp that used to regions dry period repeats itself, he said youll... Are on a long downward trend, they fluctuate with the dropping levels... Reached that point before, creating substantial uncertainty about what would happen if Lake Powell levels. This industry is likely to be used for the Western U.S dried up paint a pretty for... Of one foot to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages a hotter, drier for. ( 3 ) nonprofit organization Upper Basin plan to be extremely impacted as... But it does n't mean the area ca n't thrive you also have the option to of!
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