- The federal government plans to release up to 1 million acre-feet of water from Flaming Gorge to support Lake Powell.
- This aims to support Lake Powell amid low snowpack and water levels.
- New hazards, like exposed shorelines, pose risks to Lake Powell boaters, too.
LAKE POWELL — With low water levels and a poor snowpack outlook, the federal government is intending to release a substantial amount of water from Flaming Gorge to support Lake Powell.
The Bureau of Reclamation unveiled "initial plans" to release between 660,000 acre-feet and 1 million acre-feet of water from Flaming Gorge near the Utah-Wyoming border over the next year to support the nation's second-largest reservoir by the Utah-Arizona border, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced on Friday.
A final decision is expected to be finalized within the next week, and the agency said releases are planned to begin this month and continue through April 2027.
It also plans to reduce annual releases from Lake Powell to Lake Mead by 1.48 million acre-feet through September, thus reducing how much it's losing to depletion downstream. In a statement, Burgum said the emergency measure was crafted after meeting with representatives of the seven Colorado River states, which are Utah, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming.
"I am grateful for the governors and their teams working diligently to find a solution to the complex challenges created by these unprecedented drought conditions, which require immediate action," he said.
The emergency measure follows a similar decision in 2022, as Lake Powell slipped to its lowest levels on record. Utah and the Upper Basin states agreed to release 500,000 acre-feet from Flaming Gorge to help support its downstream neighbor. Utah officials said in Feburary of this year that a similar measure was being considered, as the reservoir faces yet another serious challenge.
Lake Powell may only gain 1.4 million acre-feet of water from snowmelt this year, the National Weather Service's Colorado Basin River Forecast Center warned in its latest water outlook forecast earlier this month. That would be less than a quarter of its normal intake, and its third-lowest on record.
State and federal officials said actions were necessary to protect the reservoir.
"Tough decisions are going to have to be made, like right now," Joel Ferry, director of Utah Department of Natural Resources, told KSL after seeing the numbers.
Lake Powell is currently listed at 3,526 feet elevation, which is less than 25% full, according to the Lake Powell Water Database. Federal officials estimate that the actions announced on Friday will help it gain 54 feet over the next year, keeping it above a level needed to generate power. That would be at risk this year without any intervention, they added.
While Flaming Gorge also faces a rough snowmelt intake this year, it remains in a better position. It's 83% full, which means it has 3.1 million acres in storage at the moment. Federal officials estimate that it will remain at 59% capacity by the end of the releases.
No releases are planned at Colorado's Blue Mesa and New Mexico's Navajo reservoirs due to the region's poor inflow forecasts. The states have yet to agree on a new plan to utilize the water from Lake Powell and Lake Mead, either, as the current deal expires later this year.
New hazards
The decision was handed down the same day that Glen Canyon National Recreation Area officials warned Lake Powell boaters that they may encounter "newly exposed shorelines" and other navigational hazards this year because of the reservoir's lower levels.
The park issued an update on the Lake Powell water levels on Friday, noting that new navigational hazards have emerged throughout the nation's second-largest reservoir. Park officials have deployed their Aids to Navigation team to mark hazards, but they note that it is difficult to keep up with the rate of decline.
"(They) cannot mark every hazard due to fluctuating water levels and the lake's size," park officials wrote on Friday. "Boaters may encounter newly exposed shorelines, submerged obstacles and narrower or shifting channels in some areas."
No-wake zones may also change to reflect newly repositioned marinas, officials added. Concessions provider Aramark plans to move Bullfrog Marina closer to Halls Crossing Marina this year, and the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation was helping build a new, temporary North Wash boat ramp to help preserve access to the water while Lake Powell struggles.
Boaters are urged to slow down and remain vigilant, especially in areas they might be unfamiliar with and near busy boat ramps.
