Lake Powell officers take emergency steps to protect hydropower from Glen Canyon Dam

The first step is releasing extra water from upstream on the Colorado River this yr. The second is water will likely be held back in Lake Powell itself, as an alternative of being despatched to downstream states.

The US Bureau of Reclamation expects the dual actions will increase Lake Powell by nearly 1 million acre-feet of water. The reservoir contained about 5.8 million acre-feet of water as of Tuesday, based on the bureau, though its full capability is around 25 million acre-feet.

With out the emergency steps, the bureau estimated there was a few 25% chance the Glen Canyon Dam could have stopped producing hydropower by January. The dam generates power for as many as 5.8 million properties and businesses in seven states.

The agency said in a statement Tuesday's choice was meant to guard "hydropower generation, the ability's key infrastructure, and the water supply for the city of Page, Arizona, and the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation."

The emergency actions will purchase the federal authorities 12 months because it considers longer-term measures.

"We now have never taken this step earlier than, however the potential threat on the horizon demands prompt action," Assistant Secretary of Water and Science, Tanya Trujillo informed reporters. "We need to work collectively to stabilize the reservoir earlier than we face a larger crisis."

Lake Powell has dropped around 100 toes within the last three years because the West has been besieged by drought. Because the water level has fallen, Glen Canyon Dam has lost about 16% of its capacity to generate energy.

Bryan Hill, normal manager of the general public power utility in Page, Arizona, likened the situation to judgment day.

"We're knocking on the door of judgment day," Hill previously advised CNN. "Judgment day being when we don't have any water to give anybody."

The selections made for Lake Powell also affect its downstream neighbor, Lake Mead, which is the largest reservoir in the nation.

Water cuts for individuals who depend on Lake Mead started in January, and Tuesday's resolution might result in further restrictions.

Lake Mead's water level is now low enough to expose one of many reservoir's original, 1971 water intake valves for the primary time. The valve can no longer draw water, based on the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the company accountable for managing water sources for two.2 million individuals in southern Nevada, including Las Vegas.

Officials over the weekend made one other disturbing discovery introduced on by Lake Mead's plummeting water stage: a physique in a barrel police say is a likely murder victim from the 1980s.

"The lake has drained dramatically over the past 15 years," stated Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Homicide Lieutenant Ray Spencer. "It is probably that we are going to find additional our bodies that have been dumped in Lake Mead" as the water stage drops more.