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

Step one is releasing more water from upstream on the Colorado River this yr. The second is water will probably be held back in Lake Powell itself, as a substitute of being despatched to downstream states.

The US Bureau of Reclamation expects the dual actions will boost Lake Powell by nearly 1 million acre-feet of water. The reservoir contained about 5.8 million acre-feet of water as of Tuesday, in response to the bureau, although its full capability is round 25 million acre-feet.

Without the emergency steps, the bureau estimated there was a few 25% likelihood the Glen Canyon Dam may have stopped producing hydropower by January. The dam generates energy for as many as 5.8 million homes and companies in seven states.

The agency mentioned in an announcement Tuesday's resolution was supposed to protect "hydropower era, the facility's key infrastructure, and the water provide for the city of Web page, Arizona, and the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation."

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

"We have never taken this step before, however the potential threat on the horizon calls for immediate motion," Assistant Secretary of Water and Science, Tanya Trujillo advised reporters. "We need to work together to stabilize the reservoir before we face a larger disaster."

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

Bryan Hill, general manager of the general public energy utility in Page, Arizona, likened the state of affairs to judgment day.

"We're knocking on the door of judgment day," Hill beforehand instructed CNN. "Judgment day being when we don't have any water to offer anyone."

The choices made for Lake Powell additionally affect its downstream neighbor, Lake Mead, which is the biggest reservoir in the country.

Water cuts for individuals who rely on Lake Mead began in January, and Tuesday's resolution may lead to additional restrictions.

Lake Mead's water level is now low enough to expose one of many reservoir's unique, 1971 water intake valves for the primary time. The valve can not draw water, based on the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the agency chargeable for managing water assets for two.2 million individuals in southern Nevada, together with Las Vegas.

Officials over the weekend made one other disturbing discovery brought on by Lake Mead's plummeting water degree: a body in a barrel police say is a possible homicide sufferer from the Nineteen Eighties.

"The lake has drained dramatically over the last 15 years," mentioned Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Homicide Lieutenant Ray Spencer. "It's possible that we are going to discover extra bodies that have been dumped in Lake Mead" because the water level drops more.