The Bureau of Reclamation says water levels at Lake Powell could drop too low to generate hydropower as soon as next year.
The dire projection is familiar territory in the midst of a two-decade megadrought.
The nation’s second largest reservoir is only about 30% full. If it drops much more, it could go below the hydropower turbines inside Glen Canyon Dam. They generate electricity for about 5 million people across seven Western states.
The reservoir faced the same problem a few years ago. Water managers made emergency releases from other reservoirs to prop up Lake Powell until spring runoff came to the rescue.
Colorado River experts say that strategy won’t work in the long term.
Policymakers are under pressure to come up with a new system for sharing a river that’s shrinking because of climate change, and they need to do it before the current system expires in 2026.
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Arizona Congressmen Andy Biggs and Greg Stanton joined forces this week to request the release of drought mitigation funding. -
Cloud seeding is being used here in Arizona and in states across the West to literally make clouds rain or snow. The question is, how much water can it add to our increasingly dry climate? -
Arizona's water supply could face major cutbacks on the heels of an exceptionally hot, dry winter in the Rocky Mountains. -
There are grassy fields, tree-covered mountains, desert scrub and riparian preserves. In fact, it’s one of the top biodiversity hot spots in the world, especially for birders. -
Mayor Regina Romero and City Council members asked city officials to put together a draft amendment after voting to block Project Blue last year. That’s the data center proposed for a 290-acre stretch of Tucson’s southeast side that would have used millions of gallons of city water.
