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Tag: Western Drought

Lake Powell Drops 36 Feet in One Year Sparking Fears Over Power and Water Supply
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Fox13, Approved, FOX 13 Salt Lake City, National

Lake Powell Drops 36 Feet in One Year Sparking Fears Over Power and Water Supply

By: Chris Reed | Fox13 PAGE, ARIZONA — Lake Powell has dropped 36 feet in just the past year, leaving the massive reservoir at only 27% of its capacity and raising concerns about the ability of the Glen Canyon Dam to generate power. "There was a time when this was all covered… where we were standing was above water," said Charles Weiss, a 25-year resident living near the Wahweap Marina who works at Glen Canyon Dam. During a seven-state Colorado River conference in Las Vegas before the holiday, Bureau of Reclamation senior water resource program manager Carly Jerla warned that the lake's decline is happening faster than expected. "We're always just a couple dry years away from tipping into crisis mode," Jerla said. "The trend and the declining inflow into th...
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Feds Need Different Approach to Colorado River
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GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, State

Feds Need Different Approach to Colorado River

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com This month’s withdrawal of President Trump’s nominee to head the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) provides an opportunity, not just for a new nominee but for a new approach to the whole Colorado River management mess. It is an opportunity the White House and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum should take very seriously. The nominee’s withdrawal, due to the skepticism of Upper Basin senators, highlighted the deteriorating relationship between BOR and the states. In fact, BOR under Trump has thus far taken essentially the same tack as under Presidents Obama and Biden, namely threatening the states – including those in the Upper Basin – with a federal takeover if they don’t produce an “acceptable” plan to reduce their use of water. As negotiations...
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Lake Powell Power Crisis: Hydropower Threatened as Water Levels Plunge
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State, Approved, The Colorado Sun

Lake Powell Power Crisis: Hydropower Threatened as Water Levels Plunge

By Shannon Mullane | The Colorado Sun Federal officials reported Tuesday that the water level in Lake Powell, one of the main water storage reservoirs for the Colorado River Basin, could fall low enough to stop hydropower generation at the reservoir by December 2026. The reservoir’s water levels have fallen as the Colorado River Basin, the water supply for 40 million people, has been overstressed by rising temperatures, prolonged drought and relentless demand. Upper Basin officials sounded the alarm in June, saying this year’s conditions echo the extreme conditions of 2021 and 2022, when Lake Powell and its sister reservoir, Lake Mead, dropped to historic lows. The basin needs a different management approach, specifically one that is more closely tied to the actual water supply ea...
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Colorado River Basin states inch toward fragile water compromise as federal deadlines approach
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, National

Colorado River Basin states inch toward fragile water compromise as federal deadlines approach

By Shannon Mullane | Colorado Sun The federal government laid out firm deadlines for the process to decide how to manage the river’s future. As the negotiations continue, environmental conditions in the basin worsen. Colorado River Basin states are almost, sort of, close to a small compromise in their negotiations that focuses on matching reservoir releases more closely to the river’s actual flow. Colorado water watchers seem to be rolling with it — so far.  Top negotiators in Colorado and six basin states offered a glimpse into the high-stakes talks for the first time in months during several water meetings this week. The states are negotiating how to manage the future water supply for 40 million people once the existing rules expire in 2026.  The opposing sides in the ne...
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