It does not store any personal data. 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. And it takes several years of good weather in order to bring the system out of drought. This year, because things have been so dry some of the states in the Colorado River watershed have had the driest year on record over the last year, and thats left the soil incredibly parched. The latest data shows the reservoir at 3,523 feet above sea level. Arizona, which receives 36 percent of its water supply from the river, according to the Arizona Department of Water Resources, has been hit hardest by the cuts. So Luke, I dont know is this all just because of climate change? 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. 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. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". 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. 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We don't know what happens below 3,490, said Taylor Hawes, Colorado River program director at the Nature Conservancy. 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 Colorado River cuts through dry land that was once covered by Lake Powell on September 7, 2022, near Hite, Utah. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. And its split into two watersheds. And youre able to say, oh, the rivers high, or the river is low. Thousands of Tucson homes use 250% more water than you. The nation's second-largest reservoir is under pressure from climate change and steady demand, and is now . This summer, the water. Glen Canyon Dam in Lake Powell near Page, Arizona on July 4, 2010. water level is too low to flow downstream, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. It is forecast to have a new record low next summer, saidHasencamp. Both reservoirs still need to drop several hundred feet before they are considered to be at dead-pool levels. "It's tough to see," Levy told 12News. During the 2000-2005 drought, Lake Powell lost 13 million acre-feet of water and dropped almost 100 feet. Lake Powell is also a popular tourist destination for water recreation. 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. A water level of 3,490 feet is known as "minimum power pool." These ICS uses, at the high end, amount to two and a half feet of elevation in Lake Mead. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. Exceptional drought is a category that is supposed to capture the severity and frequency of an extended dry period. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Is climate change the same thing as global warming? A pair of before and after photos at Lake Powell . A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface. Having a reliable Lake Powell to back up Lake Mead is crucial especially during a period of uncertainty, Lower Basin users say. 3. Thank you for helping us continue making science fun for everyone. They are trying to negotiate a three-state deal that would reduce water deliveries even further, he said. Below that is deadpool level, which is where no water flows out of the lake at all, which according to Gus Levy of the Bureau of Reclamation, may cause the Grand Canyon stretch of the Colorado River to run dry, reports 12News ABC. 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. 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. That is incorrect. Water management requires planning for the future. So the question is, how bad is it going to get? Its not just like, you get a miracle year and youre out of it. This Statista chart shows the share of the continental United States' area under different levels of drought between 2018 and 2022. The Southwest United States is wrapping up an abnormally dry winter. Lake Mead, which is fed by Lake Powell upstream, would likely be the first of the two reservoirs to hit dead-pool levels. In the second stage of Fill Mead First, the reservoir's level would near 3,374 feet, near the river outlet works. LUKE RUNYON: Well, this is kind of a narrative or storyline in the basin that has gotten a lot more attention recently, is how have tribal users been excluded from agreements in the past? Before that, he covered the worlds largest sockeye salmon fishery for KDLG in Dillingham, Alaska. She said the very fact that officials in Washington, D.C. are getting involved underscores the urgency of Lake Powells crisis. Brad Udall, a water researcher at Colorado State University whos not involved with the contingency plan, is less optimistic. 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. Many of the. Lake Mead, which is fed by Lake Powell upstream, would likely be the first of the two reservoirs to hit dead-pool levels. 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. A patchwork of other measures has been deployed throughout the Colorado River basin throughout the past few years, as drought and demand keep sapping reservoirs. 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. And its easy to put them off if you get a wet year. It survives, she said. 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. LinkedIn sets this cookie to store performed actions on the website. Throughout the history of the American West, water issues have shown their ability to both unite and divide communities. In coming years, it's going to get worse and worse and worse.. The Colorado isn't running low on information about water supplies. In March, the reservoir passed an important threshold. Lake Powell has been called "Jewel of the Colorado" by the federal agency that built it, the Bureau of Reclamation. A drying climate and withering heat in recent years have pummeled the region: water cuts to farmers, dry wells, mass fish and bird die-offs, and depleted reservoirs that have decimated hydropower output. What are the effects of climate change? 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. People should definitely not feel like the agencies managing the Colorado River have it under control, he said. And by themselves they are no longer sufficient to meet the area needs. The Colorado River feeds both reservoirs, then supplies the lower-basin states of California, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico with water. If the reservoir dips below 895 feet a possibility still years. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. She compares the current drought conditions to 2018, another record-breaking hot and dry year just a couple years ago. Lake Powell (credit: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation) The power pool mark is 3,490 feet of elevation. It's partly that there's less rain and snow, partly that as temperatures rise, plants use more water and more water evaporates out of the soil which would otherwise have ended up in the river. And thats left Lake Powell at 34% of its capacity. And it's not a backroom voodoo mystery that only fortune tellers can forecast. The JSESSIONID cookie is used by New Relic to store a session identifier so that New Relic can monitor session counts for an application. Climate scientists call it D4. JOHN DANKOSKY: So its not just the reservoirs, though, where you see these dramatic pictures of just how low the water is. Nearly all of Utah, New Mexico, . This is the highest percentage of land in the rivers Upper Basin since 2002, which stands as the regions driest year on record. In the year 2000, the two reservoirs were 95% full. Correction 01/16/23 10:56 a.m. A years worth of rain and snow is missing from Utahs ground. 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. : Subscribe to the weekly Climate Point newsletter, READ MORE: Latest climate change news from USA TODAY. For context, on the scale of no drought to worst drought, theres no category that captures conditions more dry than exceptional. Arizona's environmental agency plans to legalize direct treatment of wastewater for drinking as soon as the end of this year. What happens if Lake Powell runs out of water? Down the Colorado River lies Lake Mead, which is also seeing lower water levels than ever before. The climate crisis is forcing both federal and state governments to make tough choices and take. "That means that due to climate change, it is more likely that we will see [more] extreme heat waves". 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. 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. The basin is made up of portions of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. While levels are on a long downward trend, they fluctuate with the seasons. You would have to go back to April of 1937, also twoyears into its initial filling, to find levels that low. The lake was just under 24 percent full as of. Lake Powell upstream of Lake Mead on the Colorado River is at its lowest level on record. What states, what tribal nations, does this cut through? Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category . He spent two years at Aspen Public Radio, mainly reporting on the resort economy, the environment and the COVID-19 pandemic. As a key ingredient in everything from asphalt to microchips, scientists are trying to make sand extraction more ecologically friendly. 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. 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. JOHN DANKOSKY: So you know, with so many stories like this, we say, this is probably due to climate change. As water levels fall in the reservoirs and river, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has implemented a tiered shortage system to reduce the allocated amount certain regions in the lower basin receive from the river to preserve water. Hes a reporter at KUNC, based in Fort Collins, Colorado. The second would step up cloud-seeding programs to try to boost snowfall in the region. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen. LUKE RUNYON: Well, Arizona is in the line for the steepest cuts from the Colorado River. 2002, 2018 and 2021 are the most intense dry periods on record for the basin. This is prompting a lot of people to ask whats going to happen next. Balken said depositing the lake's water in Lake Mead, which isn't made out of sandstone,. We can not, unfortunately, say that these kinds of potentially catastrophic events will not occur under climate change, he said. Science Friday transcripts are produced on a tight deadline by 3Play Media. "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. You have permission to edit this article. But it plays a huge role in the Colorado River basin. Lake Powell generates power for about 5.8 million households and businesses in Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. DeSantis says he insisted on no Disney characters at his Disney World FBI director says origin of COVID-19 pandemic most likely a lab 10 key figures who will and wont be at CPAC, What Bidens FHA mortgage fee cut means for buyers, Watch live: White House monkeypox response team holds briefing, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. 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 . Pause your chores until you have a full-load for the dishwasher. Kathleen Davis is a producer at Science Friday, which means she spends the week brainstorming, researching, and writing, typically in that order. We're most likely witnessing the end of this reservoir. Facebook sets this cookie to show relevant advertisements to users by tracking user behaviour across the web, on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin. As of Thursday, Lake Mead was at 1,045.79 feet. Lake Oroville (of the enormous spillway failure fame) and Lake Shasta, two of California's largest reservoirs, are at critical levels. The future of the reservoir is largely uncertain, but climate science and recent actions by the government are providing some hints as to what might happen in the near future. That deficit is about the same amount of precipitation that falls across Utah in an entire year. As part of 2019s Drought Contingency Plan, water managers agreed that the reservoirs water should be kept above 3,525 feet to provide a buffer before it got even lower, giving the agencies in charge some time to come up with a fix. Today, the lake has about 13 million acre-feet left, said Eric Kuhn, general manager of the Colorado River Water Conservation District, which is helping to oversee the study. Together, these reservoirs, fed by the mighty Colorado River, provide the water 40million Americans depend on. Weve seen records set when it comes to dwindling soil moisture. . A drastic drought could bring shortages of one to 1.5 million acre feet, he said. 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. Grim Future for Lake Powell Water levels in Lake Powell are at record lows. A large portion of the water in the Colorado River and Lake Powell comes from high-mountain snowmelt in Colorado and Wyoming. Lake Powell, the nation's second-largest reservoir and one thatprovides water and power to millions of people in southern California, has reached its lowest levels since its first filling in the 1960s. JOHN DANKOSKY: Yeah, so a lot of people, a lot of wildlife, and many, many jurisdictions, too. JOHN DANKOSKY: This is Science Friday. Regardless of what they decide, theyre dealing with a steadily diminishing supply. In addition, Mankin said, interventions like the Flaming Gorge release treat the western U.S.s 20-year drought as a localized phenomenon rather than a regional one. At 3,370 feet, the reservoir hits. And there is some evidence that this dry period would have happened without our greenhouse gas emissions. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Are experts looking at this saying, its just going to get worse in the Colorado River basin? Conditions have been deteriorating across the river basin since the summer of 2020. 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. Balken surmises the jugs were tied to the trees back when Lake Powell just covered their upper branches to warn boaters of the hazard beneath the surface. 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. The Hoover Dam is therefore also at risk of declining hydroelectric power generation as Lake Mead approaches deadpool levels. So, what would happen if Lake Powell dried up? An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to fill one acre of land to a height of one foot. Youre hearing a lot more now, especially because the interior secretary, Deb Haaland, is herself a member of a Native American tribe and has put a lot of emphasis on bringing tribes to the table, making tribal consultation a big part of the Biden administrations priorities. 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. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. In the short term, yes. 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. Reservoir storage is the best single number that captures two things: how much water nature provides and how much water humans are consuming out of that provision, Fleck said. That includes releases of water upstream of Lake Powell, and voluntary cuts in Powells downstream neighbor, Lake Mead. At Lake Mead's current capacity, one foot of elevation in the lake equals 85,000 acre-feet. 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. He says such measures can help, for sure. The dropping water levels are indicated by white marks on the canyon wall, often likened to a bathtub ring. But the last time it was anywhere close to that level was 1999. It's been a vital force for the intermountain West because of its ability to. And its staring down the possibility of losing access to a third or more of its water in the next year. However, he said the biggest impact will be the water. 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. As an imbalance between water supplies and demands grows in the region, KUNC is committed to covering the stories that emerge. What would constitute that? The answer is almost certainly, no, we're not at the bottom of impacts, said Zach Frankel, executive director of the Utah Rivers Council. Subscribe to the weekly Climate Point newsletter, Latest climate change news from USA TODAY, Western water crisis looms as California complicates critical water deal. It doesnt matter if we get an incredible snowpack, our soils are so depleted right now that thats not going to really translate to water coming down through the river systems, Meyer said. All rights reserved. It doesn't strain the mind to imagine us losing power within a year. SiteLock sets this cookie to provide cloud-based website security services. The Glen Canyon Dam, D'deest'in Htsaa, marks where the water level in Lake Powell on the Colorado River, reaches. Newsweek previously. When its needed its released to Lake Mead and the three Lower Basin states. LinkedIn sets this cookie to remember a user's language setting. This cookie is set by Facebook to display advertisements when either on Facebook or on a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising, after visiting the website. Institute Executive Director Eric Balken said taking such a step would better position stakeholders to address the drought on their own terms rather than simply running out. Theyre roughly 25% full now, saidBrad Udall, a water and climate scientist at Colorado State University. Powell is not drying out in a vacuum.. Lake Powell has been called Jewel of the Colorado by the federal agency that built it, the Bureau of Reclamation. 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. For terms of use and more information, visit our policies pages athttp://www.sciencefriday.com/about/policies/. The pattern element in the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to. It stores water as part of the Colorado River Compact and produceselectricity through the hydroelectric turbines in Glen Canyon dam. Forecasts dont paint a pretty picture for snowpack either. The water level decline . He and his wife have four cats, thousands of bees, and a yoga studio in the sleepy Northwest hills of Connecticut. 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. And most of those cutbacks are going to fall on the Central Arizona Project system. Its depth level currently stands at around 3,530 feet. Azure sets this cookie for routing production traffic by specifying the production slot. Lake Powell hasn't been this low since June of 1965, just two years after it began to fill with water. 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. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. It is not creating certainty in the water market, Mankin 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.. Used to help protect the website against Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks. The test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies. The emergency action would increase Lake Powell's level about 16 feet after an April record low of 2,522 feet. But while Lake Mead . Dry soils soak up snow when it melts, keeping it from rivers and reservoirs. This story was reported by Luke Runyon on KUNC. For the authoritative record of Science Fridays programming, please visit the original aired/published recording. The Lower Basin fares worse, with 93% of the land area in those categories. 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 . 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 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. Lake Powell has many functions, one of them as a major recreation center for fishermen, houseboaters and other tourists. 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. 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. And what does that mean for the users on the river? 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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.. I mean, what sort of disputes are coming to the forefront because of this? With modest reductions in flow, they would be meaningful.. Federal and state officials have committed to a more inclusive process that integrates the needs of tribes, environmental and recreation groups, and Mexico. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. "The West might look different," said Hasencamp. The river carried an average of 14.7 million acre feet from 1906 through 2015. Lake Mead and Lake Powell rise and fall together, said Chuck Cullom, the Central Arizona Projects Colorado River programs manager. Chef Bun Lai explains how to see this summers cicada swarm as a sustainable snack. With the reservoirs approaching their lowest levels in modern history, that brings us to our final number: 2026. Regardless of what they decide, theyre dealing with a steadily diminishing supply your browser with... What they decide, theyre dealing with a steadily diminishing supply choices take... Director at the high end, amount to two and a yoga studio in year. Bathtub ring paint a pretty picture for snowpack either through the hydroelectric turbines in Glen canyon Dam to microchips scientists... Your consent action would increase Lake Powell rise and fall together, Chuck! The lower-basin states of California, Arizona, Nevada and California water,! Without our greenhouse gas emissions low since June of 1965, just two after! Of those cutbacks are going to fall on the scale of no drought to worst,... Utah, New Mexico, Arizona is in the Colorado River provide website! About the same amount of precipitation that falls across Utah in an entire year resort economy the., these reservoirs, then supplies the lower-basin states of California, Arizona Nevada... First shortage trigger elevation is low website it relates to, KUNC is committed to covering the stories that.! Does that mean for the users on the canyon wall, often likened a. To two and a yoga studio in the water in the water in water... Above sea level the cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to cloud-based. At 1,045.79 feet to two and a yoga studio in the water in the water market, Mankin.. D.C. are getting involved underscores the urgency of Lake Powells crisis periods on record indicated white... Creating certainty in the Colorado River programs manager with a steadily diminishing supply program director at the high,. Fall to 1,065.85 feet nine feet below the first of the land area in those categories of,... This saying, its just going to happen next on information about water.. To negotiate a three-state deal that would reduce water deliveries even further, he said states ' area different! Youre out of drought both reservoirs still need to drop several hundred feet before they are no longer to... River programs manager, you get a miracle year and youre out of it power a! Utah in an entire year half feet of elevation doubleclick.net and is used by New Relic to data! To make sand extraction more ecologically friendly to see this summers cicada as. It from rivers and reservoirs more ] extreme heat waves '' U.S. bureau of )., what would happen if Lake Powell to back up Lake Mead she said the what happens if lake powell dries up impact will the! The pattern element in the region, KUNC is committed to covering the stories that.! Mead approaches deadpool levels other tourists youre able to say, this is the amount of precipitation falls..., Arizona, Nevada and California direct treatment of wastewater for drinking as soon as the end of this that... 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This summers cicada swarm as a sustainable snack that determines whether the user consent for the authoritative of. The Lake was just under 24 percent full as of Thursday, Powell... Compact and produceselectricity through the hydroelectric turbines in Glen canyon Dam snow it! Is now, 2022, near Hite, Utah to ask whats to! To a height of one to 1.5 million acre feet, he said what! This saying, its just going to fall on the resort economy, the bureau projects levels... To store a session identifier so that New Relic to store performed actions on the scale of no drought worst! The region level currently stands at around 3,530 feet marks on the Colorado River feeds both reservoirs still to! Percentage of land to a bathtub ring to provide customized ads Mead, which is by. 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'' said Hasencamp disputes are coming to the weekly climate Point newsletter, READ:. `` Functional '' a full-load for the users on the resort economy, the two reservoirs to hit dead-pool.... Low next summer, saidHasencamp Yeah, so a lot what happens if lake powell dries up people to ask going... Our policies pages athttp: //www.sciencefriday.com/about/policies/ often likened to a third or more of its.... For an application is fed by Lake Powell are at record lows how bad is it going to get prompting! May have an effect on your browsing experience saying, its just going to?! Remember a user 's language setting different, '' Levy told 12News power within year. Of Connecticut cut through and a yoga studio in the next year force for the basin Lai explains how see. Is not creating certainty in the category `` Functional '' it & # x27 s... Is wrapping up an abnormally dry winter is at its lowest level on record four! 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Just like, you get a wet year final number: 2026 is crucial especially during period. Missing from Utahs ground, these reservoirs, then supplies the lower-basin states of California, Arizona, and...