Since 2000, the west has been under siege from climate change and drought with increased temperatures and decreased precipitation. The impacts are significant on the region’s water supplies, the most glaring being the decline in the nation’s largest reservoirs. In mid-March, Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in the U.S., fell to 3,520.49 feet above sea level, a level not seen since 1965, two years after the dam began filling with water, leaving the federal government to step in to protect its long-term sustainability.

Lake Powell is a component of the Colorado River System which provides water to 40 million people. Decreased water in the reservoir jeopardizes not only the water supply but also the production of hydropower at Glen Canyon Dam which holds back Lake Powell. Five million people across seven states rely on the dam’s hydropower; however, the water level is steadily dwindling toward “minimum power pool,” which occurs at 3,490 feet, the point at which the dam will no longer be able to generate hydropower.[1] Since 2021, the Bureau of Reclamation has worked to bolster water levels by releasing water from upstream reservoirs and more recently has reduced the agreed upon amount of water released from Lake Powell to keep the dam from reaching this point.

As the Bureau considers future drought response operations for both reservoirs, it has approached the states that share the river to propose additional conservation strategies; negotiations have been notoriously contentious among the seven states. Six of the states were able to reach an agreement that will reduce their take by 1.5 million acre-feet of water for each of the next two years, approximately the amount that is lost to evaporation and infrastructure issues each year; however, California chose not to sign the agreement releasing a separate proposal to reduce its annual use by nine percent (400,000 acre-feet) each year through 2026.[2]

Although significant, these reductions are not enough to meet the 2 – 4 million acre-feet the Bureau says is necessary to protect the reservoirs. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will fund projects to support the Colorado River System, but those initiatives will take time to unfold. Current managerial documents and agreements that govern operations at both reservoirs expire in 2026. Until then, the federal government will continue its oversight, pressing the states to conserve through evolving stop gap agreements to protect and extend the water into the future.

[1] Ziegler, Zachary. “Lake Powell Drops to a New Record Low as Feds Scramble to Prop It Up.” AZPM, 15 Feb. 2023, https://news.azpm.org/p/news-articles/2023/2/15/214926-lake-powell-drops-to-a-new-record-low-as-feds-scramble-to-prop-it-up/.

[2] Hager, Alex. “Six States Agree on a Proposal for Colorado River Cutbacks, California Has a Counter.” KUNC, 1 Feb. 2023, https://www.kunc.org/environment/2023-01-31/six-states-agree-on-a-proposal-for-colorado-river-cutbacks-california-has-a-counter.