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SALT LAKE CITY — Nearly $30 million in federal funds is going to the Upper Colorado River Basin states, including Utah, for projects to improve drought planning in the region, Department of Interior officials announced Tuesday.
The measure comes a day after the Bureau of Reclamation, an agency within the Interior, released new projections estimating Lake Powell levels will rise about another 17 to 52 feet in the next few months, as the region's snowpack melts.
Lake Powell's spring bump
About 7.10 to 11.33 million acre-feet of water will flow into Lake Powell in April, according to officials, which would be between 74% and 118% of average. But the "most probable" scenario is 8.39 million acre-feet, about 87% of average.
"There is approximately an 80% probability that a future elevation will fall inside the range of the minimum and maximum inflow scenarios. Additionally, there are possible inflow scenarios that would result in reservoir elevations falling outside the ranges indicated in these reports," the agency wrote in a report on Monday.
If the forecast comes to fruition, the most likely outcome would raise the reservoir's levels by about 32 feet to 3,590 feet elevation by July. That wouldn't just pad water levels at the reservoir, but it would also open up currently inoperable areas, like Castle Rock Cut.
24 month outlook from the Bureau of Rec. Just published today April 15th. pic.twitter.com/eJQx7JPTDU
— Matthew Johnson (@KSL_Matt) April 15, 2024
"A lot of folks look forward to that projection that they put out and it's looking good this year," said KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson.
The estimate comes as the West's snowpack collection begins to melt. Utah's statewide snowpack peaked at about 117% of the median average, while Colorado snowpack peaked at about 98% and Wyoming at 90%, per Natural Resources Conservation Service data.
Bureau of Reclamation officials say the reservoir is likely to drop down to a little above 3,577 feet elevation by the end of the year under the most likely scenario. It could make another jump next spring, depending on next winter's snowpack collection.
The reservoir fell to a record low in early 2022 before it made major gains from last year's record snowpack. A record-breaking 5.2 million people visited the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, including Lake Powell, last year, according to the National Park Service.
New investments in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Changes to how Colorado River water is consumed may also help with the projections. Federal officials are expected to formally implement a temporary plan that seeks to conserve at least 3 million acre-feet of water between 2024 and 2026, keeping more water in Lake Powell and Lake Mead during that time.
The Upper and Lower Basin states have yet to agree on a plan beyond 2026.
However, that may just be the beginning. The Department of Interior announced Tuesday it would direct $29.7 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds toward projects that enhance "drought planning" in the Upper Basin states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming.
The money will be used to fund a few different project types across the basin. It will help the state "reactivate and install" up to 60 stream gages. It also aims to help build more eddy covariance towers and weather station networks so the states can improve the "accuracy and confidence" in managing water resources.
It will also be used to help states implement new monitoring technology so they can track water diversion, soil moisture and snowpack within the region. All of these can help improve future water supply forecasting.
"There are approximately 1.5 million acres of irrigated agricultural land in the Upper Basin, and we are currently monitoring for evapotranspiration on less than 1% of that land," said Camille Calimlim Touton, the bureau's commissioner, in a statement. "This funding will provide critical data to help us more accurately measure water use from irrigated agriculture in the Upper Basin, enhancing drought planning now and into the future."
More than 40 million people across the West rely on the Colorado River for water. The Utah Division of Water Resources notes the river accounts for more than a quarter of Utah's water supply, while more than half of all Utahns "benefit directly" from the river.
