lake powell water level forecast 2022

Water supply forecasts take into consideration present hydrometeorological conditions and use But generally below-normal precipitation the last several months after a very wet December.. The drop in the power forecast comes as Upper Colorado River Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming prepare to finalize a new drought operations plan for the giant river system. Winter Storm Warnings are in effect for elevations above 4000.Heavy accumulations of 10-20 are forecast above 6000, 3-8 to 4500 and several inches to valley floors. (Due to the angle of sunlight, this image may cause an optical illusion known as relief inversion.). Note that projections of elevation and storage for water year 2023 have significant uncertainty at this point in the season. Late last fall WAPA, which operates the electric grid and distributes the power to utilities, raised rates 30% to cover reductions in power revenue. She also sits on the Upper Colorado River Commission. average basin temperatures and precipitation for the forecast period. Lund said that throughout the reservoir's history, it has refilled to its original levels just once. Upper Colorado River Basin regularly experiences significant year to year hydrologic variability. Click below for water level and accessibity updates about the launch ramps and services near you. For five years after 2012, snow- and rainfall totals were generally low, as the region suffered through a persistent, long-term drought. 2018 brought some relief after a wet winter. But the declining water already has drained some of the fun, he said. If Glen Canyon Dam ceases to operate, we are going to have to replace that power somewhere else and it will have a bigger carbon footprint, said Bryan Hannegan, CEO of Holy Cross Energy, which buys Lake Powells hydropower to serve customers in Western Colorado. "These reservoirs are huge," Lund said. The January 2023 24-Month Study probable maximum and the February 2023 24-Month Study probable minimum inflow scenarios were used to determine the range of probable outcomes. 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. CNN's Bill Weir has more. While the lake was significantly higher in 2011 and 2012 than in 2005, a careful comparison of the side canyons reveals that the level was still not back to 1999 levels, when the lake was near full capacity. google_ad_type = "text_image"; n$L{Z. The period 2000-2022 is the lowest 23-year period since the closure of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, with an average unregulated inflow of 8.29 maf, or 93 percent of the 30-year average (1991-2020). Despite those releases, Powell dropped below 3,525 last month, hitting 3,523, another historic drought landmark. We need to get ourselves prepared," he says. At the same time, electric utilities across the West are looking for other green options and hoping that hydropower production wont stop altogether. Fresh Water News is an independent, non-partisan news initiative of Water Education Colorado. Correction: This article has been corrected to indicate that Lake Powell began filling 59 years ago, not 60 years, as the original article stated. The 30-year average was updated in October 2022 from 1981 through 2010 to 1991 through 2020. The end of January elevation and storage of Lake Powell were 3,523.45 feet (177 feet from full pool) and 5.45 million acre-feet (maf) (23 percent of live capacity), respectively. Click for Details, Current Snowpack Conditions for Upper Colorado Basin. However, these responses can have a noticeable impact on the river downstream of Glen Canyon Dam. Consistent with Section 6.D.1 of the Interim Guidelines, Lake Powells operations in water year 2023 are governed by the Lower Elevation Balancing Tier (LEBT) with an initial projected water year release volume of 7.00 maf. Feet above sea level Change - Feet difference over previous . Surface Water Elevation (feet) Lake Powell End of Month Elevations1 . Lake Powell has several launch ramps along its 186-mile length. Wednesday snow and wind will be heavy at times leading to difficult if not impossible travel. Close Become a member Login My Account Logout Search for:Search News Education Health Coloradans Equity Sun Investigation Crime and Courts Culture Sports 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. So, it takes awhile to fill and it takes awhile to empty.". google_ad_format = "160x600_as"; About 40 million people rely on the Colorado River for domestic use and farmers and ranchers use water from the river to irrigate more than 3 million acres of farmland. 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. Prepared by Ashley Nielson NOAA, National Weather Service Colorado Basin River Forecast Center Salt Lake City, Utah www.cbrfc.noaa.gov Contents Last July, to protect the 3,525 buffer zone, Reclamation ordered emergency water releases from three reservoirs in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Differences between the full period forecasts and the residual forecasts may not exactly equal the actual observed volumes due to rounding conventions (see Definitions section). LAKE POWELL, Utah Lake Powell water levels continue to drop, and a new report released by the Bureau of Reclamation projects the possibility America's . swE{,,;o0U|+/ :u7j@;pGh00gr\j30sAD+ ON 9 Gas Prices on Lake In the early years of this image series, water levels began to drop. Level 3 Shortage Condition 1,025 ft and below Elevation 1,090 ft Elevation 1,045 ft Historical Future //-->, Printable Version Were going to be generating less than we have in quite some time. In March 2022, it fell below a critical level of 3,525 feet above sea levelthe lake's target elevation. Credit: Alex Hager. Few expected to ever see this drop in hydropower production, let alone consider what to do if Glen Canyon were to cease electricity production entirely. In water year 2021 unregulated inflow volume to Lake Powell was 3.50 maf (36 percent of average), the second driest year on record above 2002. The peak inflow to Lake Powell occurs in mid- to late spring, as the winter snow in the Rocky Mountains melts. The most recent data is from Monday, February 27th, 2023. The deep, narrow, meandering reservoir extends upstream into southern Utah. DATE MEASURED ELEVATION CHANGE CONTENT INFLOW OUTFLOW HIGH TEMP LOW TEMP WATER TEMP . In order to restore Lake Powell's levels, one expert said people must conserve water in the Colorado River's lower basin. Last Reading: 3521.11 on Feb 27, 2023 Powell was last within 2" of this elevation on Feb 26, 2023 There are currently 1,734,731,016,499 gallons of water in Lake Powell! google_ad_width = 160; Now, though, we know that its not firm, its not reliable, and its coming at a much higher cost.. Lake Powells water levels plummeted in early 2005, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation. Lake Powells side branches had all retreated compared to the previous years extents. KNAUs Melissa Sevigny reports. In addition to the February 2023 24-Month Study based on the Most Probable inflow scenario, and in accordance with the Drought Response Operational Agreement (DROA)), Reclamation has conducted model runs in February to determine a possible range of reservoir elevations. The release volume from Glen Canyon Dam in January was 500 kaf. The Water Desks mission isto increase the volume, depth and power of journalismconnected to Western water issues. 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. google_ad_width = 160; It can store about five times the average annual flow. The probable minimum inflow scenario reflects a dry hydrologic condition which statistically would be exceeded 90 percent of the time. endstream endobj 160 0 obj <>/Metadata 41 0 R/Pages 157 0 R/StructTreeRoot 59 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences 177 0 R>> endobj 161 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 792 612]/Parent 157 0 R/Resources<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 162 0 obj <>stream She can be reached at 720-398-6474, via email atjerd@wateredco.orgor @jerd_smith. Get the most up to date information on Lake Powell's water levels and the status of launch ramps from the Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, and more with the links and pages below. The Bureau of Reclamation announced on May 3, 2022, two separate urgent drought response actions that will help prop up Lake Powell by nearly 1 million acre-feet (maf) of water over the next 12 months (May 2022 through April 2023). The forecast is changing daily and there are still a lot of variables, said Lisa Meiman, a spokeswoman for WAPA. " 9`SADP zg Ab``#@ 7 3 Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. :pNB/gb2D0p6Ecb :qD_q7wE42TOOSW:Oa^(-]p7y|iZ.8uq:}1y3bJ]!G ) ytRdJp2 +[|}QpEU}V'k{yeKud"xl_-x lJ!UZ`,n!\3{dcb The lake level began to rebound; only the 2008 image appeared to deviate from the trend toward rising water levels. Even Less water forecast to flow into Lake Powell this year, report says May NOAA runoff report predicts even less water will flow into Lake Powell this year than previously forecasted. Shifting the period of record decreased the average unregulated inflow 1.20 maf. The basin states, in a response letter, expressed concern that the water level of Lake Powell would decline below critical elevations, making the dam inoperable. If you have feedback on content, format, or publication frequency, please contact us. System emergencies occur fairly infrequently and typically require small responses from Glen Canyon Dam. There are continued discussions when and how that same amount of water (0.523 maf) will be . As air warms over time, less precipitation makes it to the reservoirs due to evaporation. Lake Powell is now at a historic low. Precipitation was better, but still slightly below normal in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The Colorado River flows in from the east around Mille Crag Bend and is swallowed by the lake. The grim forecast comes as water officials race to bolster Lake Powells water levels. Lake Powell