Damage found inside Glen Canyon Dam increases water risks on the Colorado River
8 months, 1 week ago

Damage found inside Glen Canyon Dam increases water risks on the Colorado River

LA Times  

Federal officials have discovered damage inside Glen Canyon Dam that could force limits on how much Colorado River water is released at low reservoir levels, raising risks the Southwest could face shortages that were previously unforeseen. “Because of the dam’s design, there are real structural risks under low elevations that could potentially leave stranded as much water in Lake Powell as California’s largest reservoir, Lake Shasta,” said JB Hamby, California’s Colorado River commissioner. Environmental activists, who have long urged federal officials to consider draining the reservoir, said the dam’s internal problems create serious risks of unanticipated water shortages in Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. “We need the bureau to step up and help us all have a better idea of how to fix it.” Roerink’s organization, together with the Utah Rivers Council and Glen Canyon Institute, had warned in a 2022 report that the “antiquated plumbing system inside Glen Canyon Dam represents a liability,” with risks of precisely the type of problems that have come to light.

Water California Nevada Mexico Dam Colorado Utah Low River Problems Canyon Glen Colorado River Water Use Bureau Risks Reservoir Federal Officials Hamby Lake Powell Glen Canyon Dam Reclamation Burman Low Reservoir Levels  problems  colorado  dam  low  risks  river  bureau  reclamation  reservoir  inside  canyon  glen  water  damage  increases

History of this topic

Letters to the Editor: It’s time to build a water pipeline to supply the Colorado River
1 week, 4 days ago

Letters to the Editor: It’s time to build a water pipeline to supply the Colorado River

LA Times  

Tourists visit the Hoover Dam, which impounds the Colorado River to create Lake Mead, in Nevada in April 2023. Knowing the dire sense of urgency, we should at least consider — in lieu of toilet to tap, paying farmers to fallow their fields, sucking more groundwater out of sinking land and starting more water wars — a 1,000-mile water pipeline …

As Colorado River states await water cuts, they struggle to find agreement on longer-term plans
4 months, 1 week ago

As Colorado River states await water cuts, they struggle to find agreement on longer-term plans

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The federal government is expected to announce water cuts soon that would affect some of the 40 million people reliant on the Colorado River, the powerhouse of the U.S. West. In 2007, following years of drought, the seven U.S. states in the basin — Arizona, Nevada, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — and the federal government …

A rare and wild adventure on the Colorado River
4 months, 1 week ago

A rare and wild adventure on the Colorado River

BBC  

A rare and wild adventure on the Colorado River Cassidy Randall Cataract Canyon was once one of the most ferocious stretches of whitewater on the Colorado River Imagine running rapids that haven't been seen in six decades and camping on beaches that didn't exist a mere few months earlier. The muddy current of the Colorado River carries our rafts through …

Native American tribes give unanimous approval to proposal securing Colorado River water
7 months ago

Native American tribes give unanimous approval to proposal securing Colorado River water

Associated Press  

The Navajo Nation Council has signed off on a proposed settlement that would ensure water rights for its tribe and two others in the drought-stricken Southwest — a deal that could become the most expensive enacted by Congress. Congress has enacted nearly three dozen tribal water rights settlements across the U.S. over the last four decades and federal negotiation teams …

Plumbing problem at Glen Canyon Dam brings new threat to Colorado River system
8 months, 1 week ago

Plumbing problem at Glen Canyon Dam brings new threat to Colorado River system

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — Plumbing problems at the dam holding back the second-largest reservoir in the U.S. are spurring concerns about future water delivery issues to Southwestern states supplied by the Colorado River. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the major dams in the Colorado River system, is evaluating issues related to Glen Canyon Dam when Lake Powell reaches low levels. …

‘We can do better’: Western states divided over long-term plans for Colorado River water
9 months, 2 weeks ago

‘We can do better’: Western states divided over long-term plans for Colorado River water

LA Times  

With climate change compounding the strains on the Colorado River, seven Western states are starting to consider long-term plans for reducing water use to prevent the river’s reservoirs from reaching critically low levels in the years to come. In one camp, the three states in the river’s lower basin — California, Arizona and Nevada — say their approach would share …

As a deadline approaches, Colorado River states are still far apart on water sharing
9 months, 2 weeks ago

As a deadline approaches, Colorado River states are still far apart on water sharing

NPR  

As a deadline approaches, Colorado River states are still far apart on water sharing Enlarge this image toggle caption Alex Hager/KUNC Alex Hager/KUNC Ahead of a deadline next week, the seven states that share the Colorado River have revealed competing plans for how the river should be managed in the future. Reservoirs drying up Mitchell and her Upper Basin colleagues …

States in Colorado River basin pitch new ways to absorb shortages but clash on the approach
9 months, 2 weeks ago

States in Colorado River basin pitch new ways to absorb shortages but clash on the approach

Associated Press  

SANTA ANA, Calif. — The seven U.S. states that draw water from the Colorado River basin are suggesting new ways to determine how the increasingly scarce resource is divvied up when the river can’t provide what it historically promised. The seven U.S. states that draw water from the Colorado River basin are suggesting new ways to determine how the increasingly …

Risks ease for Colorado River reservoirs after wet winter, but long-term challenges loom
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Risks ease for Colorado River reservoirs after wet winter, but long-term challenges loom

LA Times  

After a wet year and a push to conserve water in the Southwest, federal officials say the risk of the Colorado River’s reservoirs declining to critically low levels has substantially eased for the next couple of years. Touton called it a significant milestone, saying the Biden administration has successfully “staved off the immediate possibility of the Colorado River system’s reservoirs …

Feds say Colorado River water cuts are sufficient to stave off immediate risks
1 year, 1 month ago

Feds say Colorado River water cuts are sufficient to stave off immediate risks

LA Times  

Current plans for reducing water use along the Colorado River should be sufficient to stave off the risk of reservoirs reaching critically low levels over the next three years, according to a new analysis by the federal government. Deputy Interior Secretary Tommy Beaudreau said the ongoing conservation efforts by states in the Colorado River Basin have helped ease the immediate …

As Colorado River shrinks, California farmers urge ‘one-dam solution’
1 year, 3 months ago

As Colorado River shrinks, California farmers urge ‘one-dam solution’

LA Times  

John Weisheit, co-founder of the group Living Rivers, says the Colorado River should be restored to a more natural state by decommissioning Glen Canyon Dam. For years, environmentalists have argued that the Colorado River should be allowed to flow freely across the Utah-Arizona border, saying that letting water pass around Glen Canyon Dam — and draining the giant Lake Powell …

Editorial: Colorado River water deal gives California another reprieve. For now
1 year, 7 months ago

Editorial: Colorado River water deal gives California another reprieve. For now

LA Times  

A “bathtub ring” displays the drop in water levels on Lake Mead, which provides much of Southern California’s water and is fed by a diminishing Colorado River. The real reckoning comes when operating agreements expire for Lake Mead, which feeds the Colorado’s water to Southern California and the two other lower-basin states, and Lake Powell, which regulates the flow into …

US floats options to reduce water pulled from Colorado River
1 year, 8 months ago

US floats options to reduce water pulled from Colorado River

Associated Press  

BOULDER CITY, Nev. — The Biden administration released an environmental analysis Tuesday that outlined two ways that seven Western states and tribes reliant on the overtapped Colorado River could cut their use, but declined to publicly take a side on the best option. But Beaudreau said states, Native American tribes and other water users recognized that it would be in …

As the Colorado River shrinks, federal officials consider overhauling Glen Canyon Dam
1 year, 10 months ago

As the Colorado River shrinks, federal officials consider overhauling Glen Canyon Dam

LA Times  

The Colorado River’s decline threatens hydropower at Glen Canyon Dam. With the reservoir now just 32 feet away from “minimum power pool” — the point at which Glen Canyon Dam would no longer generate power for six states — federal officials are studying the possibility of overhauling the dam so that it can continue to generate electricity and release water …

How the Colorado River crisis affects hydropower.
1 year, 10 months ago

How the Colorado River crisis affects hydropower.

Slate  

The Colorado River, which allows the desert to sustain itself and powers millions of American homes, is currently engaged in the fight of its life. The Hoover Dam at Lake Mead and the Glen Canyon Dam at Lake Powell provide power for approximately 4 million Americans in the seven basin states. Despite these concerns, hydropower makes up almost one-third of …

Colorado River crisis is so bad, lakes Mead and Powell are unlikely to refill in our lifetimes
1 year, 10 months ago

Colorado River crisis is so bad, lakes Mead and Powell are unlikely to refill in our lifetimes

LA Times  

The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is the deepest it’s been in decades, but those storms that were a boon for Northern California won’t make much of a dent in the long-term water shortage for the Colorado River Basin — an essential source of supplies for Southern California. “To think that these things would ever refill requires some kind of …

At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty ‘Law of the River’ holds sway
1 year, 10 months ago

At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty ‘Law of the River’ holds sway

LA Times  

The Colorado River cuts through Marle Canyon in the Navajo Nation en route to the Grand Canyon. But as California argues most strongly for strict adherence to this system of water apportionment, the other states say it makes little sense when the river’s largest reservoir, Lake Mead, continues to decline toward “dead pool” level, which would effectively cut off the …

AP Exclusive: Emails reveal tensions in Colorado River talks
1 year, 10 months ago

AP Exclusive: Emails reveal tensions in Colorado River talks

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Competing priorities, outsized demands and the federal government’s retreat from a threatened deadline stymied a deal last summer on how to drastically reduce water use from the parched Colorado River, emails obtained by The Associated Press show. As the deadline approached without meaningful progress, one water manager warned: “We’re all headed to a very dark place.” “The …

A river guide’s view of Lake Powell’s decline and the depths of the Colorado River crisis
1 year, 10 months ago

A river guide’s view of Lake Powell’s decline and the depths of the Colorado River crisis

LA Times  

Muddy water whizzed past as John Weisheit steered a motorboat upstream in the Colorado River. “I don’t know if I’m willing to flip a boat for this.” Weisheit said he thought he knew this part of the Colorado River, like so many other stretches where he has guided expeditions over the last four decades. “We need to respect the river …

The Times podcast: Colorado River in Crisis, Part 1: A Dying River
1 year, 11 months ago

The Times podcast: Colorado River in Crisis, Part 1: A Dying River

LA Times  

A formerly sunken boat stands upright along the shoreline of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Interior Department announced last fall that it will consider revising a set of guidelines for operating two major dams on the Colorado River in the first sign of what could lead to federal action to protect the shrinking reservoirs behind them. …

Federal officials say urgent action needed to protect shrinking Colorado River reservoirs
2 years ago

Federal officials say urgent action needed to protect shrinking Colorado River reservoirs

LA Times  

A boat sits in a cove on Lake Powell, in Utah, in May. Speaking at the conference Friday, Touton said: “I can feel the anxiety, the uncertainty in this room, and in the basin, as we look at the river and the hydrology that we face.” Touton noted that an agreement a century ago, the 1922 Colorado River Compact, divided …

Growing fears of ‘dead pool’ on Colorado River as drought threatens Hoover Dam water
2 years ago

Growing fears of ‘dead pool’ on Colorado River as drought threatens Hoover Dam water

LA Times  

The Colorado River’s largest reservoirs stand nearly three-quarters empty, and federal officials now say there is a real danger the reservoirs could drop so low that water would no longer flow past Hoover Dam in two years. Outlining their latest projections for Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the nation’s two largest reservoirs, federal water managers said there is a risk …

Feds to Colorado River states: reduce water usage, or we will do it for you
2 years, 1 month ago

Feds to Colorado River states: reduce water usage, or we will do it for you

Salon  

This story is part of the Grist series Parched, an in-depth look at how climate change-fueled drought is reshaping communities, economies, and ecosystems. In theory, the federal government can unilaterally cut water deliveries from the Colorado River's two main reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, which release more than 2 trillion gallons of water to farms and cities across the …

In Arizona, worry about access to Colorado River water
2 years, 3 months ago

In Arizona, worry about access to Colorado River water

Associated Press  

TUCSON, Ariz. — Robbie Woodhouse’s grandfather began nearly a century of family farming along the Gila River near Yuma in the middle 1920s when he dug up a bunch of mesquite stumps on his land to make way for his barley, wheat, Bermuda seed, cotton and melon fields. Due to a logjam in interstate negotiations for massive cuts in Colorado …

Crisis looms without big cuts to over-tapped Colorado River
2 years, 4 months ago

Crisis looms without big cuts to over-tapped Colorado River

Associated Press  

SALT LAKE CITY — Hydroelectric turbines may stop turning. People have “been hoping to stave off this day,” said Felicia Marcus, a former top water official in California, which holds the largest right to the river’s water. Entsminger and his counterparts in Arizona, Utah and California, as well as local officials in and around Phoenix, also repeated what has become …

What is the role of the Hoover Dam?
2 years, 5 months ago

What is the role of the Hoover Dam?

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The dam created and impounds Lake Mead, which …

As water crisis worsens on Colorado River, an urgent call for Western states to ‘act now’
2 years, 6 months ago

As water crisis worsens on Colorado River, an urgent call for Western states to ‘act now’

LA Times  

A person walks past a formerly sunken boat on a now-dry section of lakebed at Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir. She provided details about the federal government’s approach to the crisis two days after Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton announced that major cuts of between 2 million and 4 million acre-feet will be needed next year to keep reservoirs …

Major water cutbacks loom as shrinking Colorado River nears ‘moment of reckoning’
2 years, 6 months ago

Major water cutbacks loom as shrinking Colorado River nears ‘moment of reckoning’

LA Times  

Exposed banks of Lake Mead behind Hoover Dam show how low water levels have dropped on the Colorado River-fed reservoir due to persistent and worsening drought. As the West endures another year of unrelenting drought worsened by climate change, the Colorado River’s reservoirs have declined so low that major water cuts will be necessary next year to reduce risks of …

Water shortages on Colorado River could eventually hit California, Arizona warns
2 years, 7 months ago

Water shortages on Colorado River could eventually hit California, Arizona warns

LA Times  

A rainbow hangs over Lake Powell on March 28 in Page, Ariz. Lake Powell has declined to just 24% of full capacity, the lowest point since it was filled in the 1960s following the construction of Glen Canyon Dam. Federal projections show Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the country’s two largest reservoirs, will keep on declining in the coming months, …

US to hold back Lake Powell water to protect hydropower
2 years, 7 months ago

US to hold back Lake Powell water to protect hydropower

Associated Press  

SALT LAKE CITY — U.S. officials announced what they called extraordinary steps on Tuesday to keep hundreds of billions of gallons of water stored in a reservoir on the Utah-Arizona line to prevent it from shrinking more amid prolonged drought and climate change. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation plans to hold back about 480,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Powell …

Lake Powell officials take emergency steps to preserve hydropower from Glen Canyon Dam
2 years, 7 months ago

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

CNN  

CNN — The federal government announced Tuesday it is taking unprecedented, emergency steps to help boost water levels at Lake Powell. The agency said in a statement Tuesday’s decision was intended to protect “hydropower generation, the facility’s key infrastructure, and the water supply for the city of Page, Arizona, and the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation.” The emergency actions …

In drought-stricken West, officials weigh emergency actions
2 years, 8 months ago

In drought-stricken West, officials weigh emergency actions

Associated Press  

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Federal officials say it may be necessary to reduce water deliveries to users on the Colorado River to prevent the shutdown of a huge dam that supplies hydropower to some 5 million customers across the U.S. West. The Interior Department has proposed holding back water in the lake to maintain Glen Canyon Dam’s ability to generate electricity …

Drought Is Threatening Hydropower in the Southwestern US
2 years, 8 months ago

Drought Is Threatening Hydropower in the Southwestern US

Wired  

News that Lake Powell, a reservoir on the border of Arizona and Utah, is slowly but surely drying up has spread far and wide. Behind the 1,320-megawatt Glen Canyon Dam and power station, Lake Powell plays an important role in providing power for some 3 million customers in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. According to Becki Bryant, the …

Lake Powell hits historic low, raising hydropower concerns
2 years, 9 months ago

Lake Powell hits historic low, raising hydropower concerns

Associated Press  

SALT LAKE CITY — 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 …

Scientists see silver lining in fed’s efforts at Lake Powell
2 years, 11 months ago

Scientists see silver lining in fed’s efforts at Lake Powell

Associated Press  

ST. GEORGE, Utah — The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced last week that it plans to adjust management protocols for the Colorado River in early 2022 to reduce monthly releases from Lake Powell in an effort to keep the reservoir from dropping farther below 2021′s historic lows. That’s 27% of the reservoir’s capacity, 164 feet below full and just 11 …

Federal agency to conduct aerial survey along Colorado River
3 years, 1 month ago

Federal agency to conduct aerial survey along Colorado River

Associated Press  

BOULDER CITY, Nev. — A federal agency that manages dams along the Colorado River plans to use a low-flying plane to conduct an aerial survey of the river and reservoirs between Hoover Dam and the U.S.-Mexico border starting later this month. Water releases to aid the survey will vary more than is typical for this time of year but will …

As climate talks put focus on water crisis, the Colorado River provides a stark example
3 years, 1 month ago

As climate talks put focus on water crisis, the Colorado River provides a stark example

LA Times  

As world leaders meet in Scotland this week to discuss efforts to address the climate crisis, experts are urging greater focus on adapting to fundamental shifts in the planet’s water supplies — and they’re pointing to the Colorado River as a prime example. “I can easily point to the Colorado as a place where we only have hard choices now.” …

US agency decides against flooding Grand Canyon amid drought
3 years, 1 month ago

US agency decides against flooding Grand Canyon amid drought

Associated Press  

LAS VEGAS — The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation decided not to send water rushing through the Grand Canyon this month to rebuild beaches for campers and sandbars for fish because of persistent drought, officials said. Officials determined opening the bypass tubes at the Glen Canyon Dam would have reduced the elevation of Lake Powell on the Utah-Arizona border by about …

Lake Powell has a 1-in-3 risk of hydropower shutdown in 2023 due to ‘megadrought’
3 years, 3 months ago

Lake Powell has a 1-in-3 risk of hydropower shutdown in 2023 due to ‘megadrought’

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Declining water levels at Lake Powell leaves a one-in-three chance that its dam will be …

US projections on drought-hit Colorado River grow more dire
3 years, 3 months ago

US projections on drought-hit Colorado River grow more dire

Associated Press  

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The U.S. government released projections Wednesday that indicate an even more troubling outlook for a river that serves 40 million people in the American West. By 2025, there’s a 66% chance Lake Mead, a barometer for how much river water some states get, will reach a level where California would be in its second phase of cuts. …

EXPLAINER: Western states face first federal water cuts
3 years, 4 months ago

EXPLAINER: Western states face first federal water cuts

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials on Monday declared the first-ever water shortage from a river that serves 40 million people in the West, triggering cuts to some Arizona farmers next year amid a gripping drought. !function{"use strict";window.addEventListener{iffor{var t=document.getElementById||document.querySelector;t&&}}))};</script><p class="social-caption"></p></div><p>Lake Powell's levels also are falling, threatening the roughly 5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity generated each year at the Glen Canyon Dam.</p><p>Colorado, …

US officials declare first-ever water shortage for Colorado River
3 years, 4 months ago

US officials declare first-ever water shortage for Colorado River

Al Jazeera  

Officials called on populations served by the river to reduce water usage starting next year. United States officials declared the first-ever water shortage for the Colorado River, an arterial waterway that serves 40 million people in the country’s west, and called on the population it serves to reduce their usage next year. However, the declaration from federal officials makes clear …

U.S. declares first-ever water shortage for Colorado river, triggering cuts in Western states
3 years, 4 months ago

U.S. declares first-ever water shortage for Colorado river, triggering cuts in Western states

LA Times  

A buoy sits above the waterline at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Aug. 13, 2021, near Boulder City, Nev. U.S. officials on Monday declared the first water shortage from a river that serves 40 million people in the West, triggering cuts to some Arizona farmers next year amid a gripping drought. But water levels at Lake Mead and …

Lake Powell hits lowest water level on record
3 years, 4 months ago

Lake Powell hits lowest water level on record

CNN  

CNN — Plagued by climate change-fueled drought and increasing demand for water, Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in the United States, has fallen to its lowest level on record since it was first filled more than 50 years ago. John Fleck, the director of the Water Resources Program at the University of New Mexico, told Lake Powell might not …

Lake Mead drops to a record low amid drought
3 years, 6 months ago

Lake Mead drops to a record low amid drought

LA Times  

A boat motors along at Lake Mead, a key reservoir on the Colorado River. Lake Mead, a key reservoir on the Colorado River, has dipped to a record low level in the latest evidence of drought’s grip on the region. It’s the lowest level since Lake Mead was filled in the 1930s. Lake Mead levels ebb and flow throughout the …

Key reservoir on Colorado River hits record low amid drought
3 years, 6 months ago

Key reservoir on Colorado River hits record low amid drought

Associated Press  

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A key reservoir on the Colorado River has dipped to its record low in the latest showing of the drought’s grip on the region. “We’re expecting the reservoir to keep declining until November, then it should start to rebound,” said U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spokeswoman Patti Aaron. “You look at the reservoir and it’s concerning.” Lake Mead …

Western states chart diverging paths as water shortages loom
3 years, 9 months ago

Western states chart diverging paths as water shortages loom

Associated Press  

SALT LAKE CITY — As persistent drought and climate change threaten the Colorado River, several states that rely on the water acknowledge they likely won’t get what they were promised a century ago. Republican lawmakers approved an entity that could push for more of Utah’s share of water as seven Western states prepare to negotiate how to sustain a river …

Western states chart diverging paths as water shortages loom
3 years, 9 months ago

Western states chart diverging paths as water shortages loom

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy As persistent drought and climate …

6 Western states blast Utah plan to tap Colorado River water
4 years, 3 months ago

6 Western states blast Utah plan to tap Colorado River water

Associated Press  

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Six states in the U.S. West that rely on the Colorado River to sustain cities and farms rebuked a plan to build an underground pipeline that would transport billions of gallons of water through the desert to southwest Utah. In a joint letter Tuesday, water officials from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming urged …

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