Alarms ringing over Lake Powell power generation

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The Washington Post started off the month of December with a dire headline: “Officials fear ‘complete doomsday scenario’ for drought-stricken Colorado RiverOpens in a new tab..”

If Lake Powell, which is just a quarter full right now, drops to dead pool, it will no longer be able to generate hydropower at Glen Canyon Dam.  The man-made reservoir is the second largest in the United StatesOpens in a new tab. and fed with Colorado River water.  Glen Canyon Power Plant produces around five billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectric power annually which is distributed by the Western Area Power Administration to Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Nebraska.  54 Native American tribes and about 4.5 million customers across the region rely on power produced there.

NBC News’ Phoenix affiliate, Channel 12, reports that under the worst-case prediction from the Bureau of Reclamation, Lake Powell could drop below the minimum power pool as soon as July 2023Opens in a new tab..

Reporting on a mixed drought outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Integrated Drought Information Service (NIDIS), Bryce Anderson of the Progressive Farmer writesOpens in a new tab., “This winter season 2022-23 is called ‘crucial’ for moisture needs in the western U.S. ‘Western water supplies are truly shrinking as some states are facing their second or third drought year in a row and a large part of the region is stuck in a 20+ year megadrought, NOAA and NIDIS’ briefing summary noted. ‘Hanging over all of this is climate change-influenced aridification in the Southwest that is increasing evaporative demand, causing water supplies to dwindle from rising temperatures even when there is adequate precipitation.'”

Colorado River system cuts begin on January 1.  Arizona is seeing the largest cut, facing “a reduction of 21% of Arizona’s Colorado river supply and about 9% of the state’s total water use, according to the Central Arizona ProjectOpens in a new tab.. Cities that use the Colorado river will see a 3% reduction while tribal supplies will be reduced by 7%.”

 

 

Deborah

Since 1995, Deborah has owned and operated LegalTech LLC with a focus on water rights. Before moving to Arizona in 1986, she worked as a quality control analyst for Honeywell and in commercial real estate, both in Texas. She learned about Arizona's water rights from the late and great attorney Michael Brophy of Ryley, Carlock & Applewhite. Her side interests are writing (and reading), Wordpress programming and much more.

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Callie
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December 13, 2022 4:26 pm
Why is Lake Powell so low? What would happen if the power plant stopped working?

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