So, does Pheonix get much of its water from the Colorado river and are you at
risk of rationing?Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: dpolhill <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: fhs-65@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wed, Mar 23, 2022 1:23 pm
Subject: [fhs-65] Re: [fhs-65] Re: [fhs-65] Check out Lake Powell Hits Historic
Low, Raising Hydropower Concerns Amid Drought – CBS Denver
OR ICOULD WAVE MY MAGIC WAND AND MAKE IT RAIN.
dp
In a message dated 3/23/2022 3:53:28 AM Mountain Standard Time,
dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Appears as though you should return to Colorado and decrease the electrical
demand on Lake Powel. Every little bit helps. Mike On Tuesday, March 22, 2022,
04:51:03 PM CDT, dpolhill <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: nOW LAKE pOWEL
IS SO LOW IT MAY INTERRUPT producing ELECTRICITY. and its volume is reduced by
4% due to sedimentation. DP
Lake Powell Hits Historic Low, Raising Hydropower Concerns Amid Drought – CBS
Denver
Lake Powell Hits Historic Low, Raising Hydropower Concerns Amid Drought
March 21, 2022 at 8:52 amFiled Under:Blue Mesa Reservoir, Colorado River SALT
LAKE CITY (AP) — A massive reservoir known as a boating mecca dipped below a
critical threshold on Tuesday raising new concerns about a source of power that
millions of people in the U.S. West rely on for electricity. Lake Powell’s fall
to below 3,525 feet puts it at its lowest level since the lake filled after the
federal government dammed the Colorado River at Glen Canyon more than a
half-century ago — a record marking yet another sobering realization of the
impacts of climate change and megadrought.The Glen Canyon Dam, near the town of
Page, Arizona is pictured on August 25, 2020. – Glen Canyon Dam is a 710-foot
high dam forms Lake Powell, one of the largest man-made reservoirs in the U.S.
(Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images)It
comes as hotter temperatures and less precipitation leave a smaller amount
flowing through the over-tapped Colorado River. Though water scarcity is hardly
new in the region, hydropower concerns at Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona reflect
that a future western states assumed was years away is approaching — and
fast.–– ADVERTISEMENT –– “We clearly weren’t sufficiently prepared for the
need to move this quickly,” said John Fleck, director of the University of New
Mexico’s Water Resources Program.Federal officials are confident water levels
will rise in the coming months once snow melts in the Rockies. But they warn
that more may need to be done to ensure Glen Canyon Dam can keep producing
hydropower in the years ahead.“Spring runoff will resolve the deficit in the
short term,” said Wayne Pullan, regional director for the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation, which manages water and power in more than a dozen states.
“However, our work is not done.”Though both Lake Powell and its downstream
counterpart, Lake Mead, are dropping faster than expected, much of the region’s
focus has been on how to deal with water scarcity in Arizona, Nevada and
California, not electricity supply.For Glen Canyon Dam, the new level is 35
feet above what’s considered “minimum power pool” — the level at which its
turbines would stop producing hydroelectric power.LAKE POWELL, UT – JUNE 11: A
boat makes its way down the main channel of Lake Powell which is at historic
lows on June 11, 2021 in Lake Powell, Utah. The high full pool water mark of
3700 can be seen on the red rock and now is at historic lows because of a
severe drought in the Western United States. (Photo by George Frey/Getty
Images)If Lake Powell drops even more, it could soon hit “deadpool” — the point
at which water likely would fail to flow through the dam and onto Lake Mead.
Arizona, Nevada, California, and Mexico already are taking a combination of
mandatory and voluntary cuts tied to Lake Mead’s levels.About 5 million
customers in seven states — Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico,
Utah and Wyoming — buy power generated at Glen Canyon Dam.
The government provides it at a cheaper rate than energy sold on the wholesale
market, which can be wind, solar, coal or natural gas.For the cities, rural
electric cooperatives and tribes that rely on its hydropower, less water
flowing through Glen Canyon Dam can therefore increase total energy costs.
Customers bear the brunt.The situation worries the Navajo Tribal Utility
Authority, one of the 50 tribal suppliers that rely on the dam for hydropower.
It plans to spend $4.5 million on an alternative energy supply this year.“It’s
a very sensitive issue for all of us right now,” said Walter Haase, the tribal
utility’s general manager.Bureau of Reclamation officials last summer took an
unprecedented step and diverted water from reservoirs in Wyoming, New Mexico,
Utah and Colorado in what they called “emergency releases” to replenish Lake
Powell. In January, the agency also held back water scheduled to be released
through the dam to prevent it from dipping even lower.Anxieties stretch beyond
hydropower. Last summer, tourism and boating were hobbled by falling lake
levels. The Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is taking advantage of the low
levels at Lake Powell to extend boat ramps. Most are now closed or come with
warnings to launch at your own risk.In Page, Arizona, which benefits from
recreation at Lake Powell, officials launched a campaign this month to
highlight that lower levels aren’t necessarily bad for visitors, noting
receding shorelines have revealed sunken boats, canyons and other geographic
wonders.“There’s tremendous amounts of history out there,” City Councilman
Richard Leightner said. “You can see some of the old dwellings, and parts of
the Old Spanish Trail are accessible now. It’s an opportunity, but it just
depends on the person’s frame of mind.”Lake Powell (credit: U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation)The record low also comes after a tough year for hydropower. Last
year, as U.S. officials worked to expand renewable energy, drought in the West
drove a decline in hydropower generation, making it harder for officials to
meet demand. Hydropower accounts for more than one-third of the nation’s
utility-scale renewable energy.Nick Williams, the bureau’s Upper Colorado Basin
power manager, said many variables, including precipitation and heat, will
determine the extent to which Lake Powell rebounds in the coming
months.Regardless, hydrology modeling suggests there’s roughly a 1 in 4 chance
it won’t be able to produce power by 2024.By SAM METZ and FELICIA FONSECA
Associated Press(© Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
