Lake Powell officials take emergency steps to preserve 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 sent to downstream states.

The US Bureau of Reclamation expects the twin actions will enhance Lake Powell by practically 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, though its full capacity is round 25 million acre-feet.

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

The company mentioned in a press release Tuesday's resolution was supposed to protect "hydropower generation, the facility'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 buy the federal authorities 12 months because it considers longer-term measures.

"We have now never taken this step before, but the potential threat on the horizon calls for prompt 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 ft in the last three years because the West has been besieged by drought. As the water degree has fallen, Glen Canyon Dam has lost about 16% of its capability to generate power.

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

"We're knocking on the door of judgment day," Hill previously told CNN. "Judgment day being when we have no water to give anybody."

The decisions made for Lake Powell additionally affect its downstream neighbor, Lake Mead, which is the biggest reservoir within the nation.

Water cuts for individuals who rely on Lake Mead began in January, and Tuesday's choice could result in additional restrictions.

Lake Mead's water degree is now low enough to reveal one of many reservoir's unique, 1971 water intake valves for the first time. The valve can no longer draw water, based on the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the company chargeable for managing water resources for 2.2 million folks in southern Nevada, including Las Vegas.

Officials over the weekend made another disturbing discovery introduced on by Lake Mead's plummeting water degree: a body in a barrel police say is a probable homicide victim from the 1980s.

"The lake has drained dramatically over the last 15 years," said Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Homicide Lieutenant Ray Spencer. "It's seemingly that we'll find extra our bodies that have been dumped in Lake Mead" as the water level drops more.