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

Step one is releasing extra 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 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, according to the bureau, although its full capacity is around 25 million acre-feet.

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

The agency stated in a statement Tuesday's choice was meant to protect "hydropower era, the power'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 government 12 months as it considers longer-term measures.

"We have now by no means taken this step before, but the potential risk on the horizon calls for immediate action," Assistant Secretary of Water and Science, Tanya Trujillo instructed reporters. "We have to work together to stabilize the reservoir earlier than we face a larger crisis."

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

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

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

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

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

Lake Mead's water level is now low enough to expose one of many reservoir's authentic, 1971 water consumption valves for the first time. The valve can no longer draw water, in accordance with the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the agency chargeable for managing water resources for two.2 million individuals in southern Nevada, together with Las Vegas.

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

"The lake has drained dramatically over the past 15 years," said Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Murder Lieutenant Ray Spencer. "It is likely that we are going to discover additional bodies that have been dumped in Lake Mead" because the water degree drops more.