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

Step one is releasing more water from upstream on the Colorado River this 12 months. The second is water will probably be held back in Lake Powell itself, as a substitute of being despatched to downstream states.

The US Bureau of Reclamation expects the dual actions will enhance Lake Powell by practically 1 million acre-feet of water. The reservoir contained about 5.8 million acre-feet of water as of Tuesday, in line with the bureau, though its full capacity is round 25 million acre-feet.

Without the emergency steps, the bureau estimated there was a couple of 25% chance the Glen Canyon Dam might have stopped producing hydropower by January. The dam generates power for as many as 5.8 million properties and businesses in seven states.

The agency said in a press release Tuesday's decision was intended to guard "hydropower technology, the power's key infrastructure, and the water supply for town of Page, Arizona, and the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation."

The emergency actions will purchase the federal authorities 12 months as it considers longer-term measures.

"We have by no means taken this step before, however the potential danger on the horizon calls for prompt action," Assistant Secretary of Water and Science, Tanya Trujillo instructed reporters. "We need to work collectively to stabilize the reservoir before we face a bigger disaster."

Lake Powell has dropped round 100 toes within the final three years as the West has been besieged by drought. Because the water degree has fallen, Glen Canyon Dam has lost about 16% of its capacity to generate power.

Bryan Hill, normal manager of the public power utility in Page, Arizona, likened the scenario to judgment day.

"We're knocking on the door of judgment day," Hill beforehand instructed CNN. "Judgment day being when we have no water to provide anyone."

The selections made for Lake Powell additionally have an effect on its downstream neighbor, Lake Mead, which is the biggest reservoir in the country.

Water cuts for many who depend on Lake Mead began in January, and Tuesday's choice could lead to additional restrictions.

Lake Mead's water stage is now low enough to expose one of many reservoir's authentic, 1971 water intake valves for the primary time. The valve can now not draw water, in line with the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the agency liable for managing water sources for 2.2 million folks in southern Nevada, including Las Vegas.

Officials over the weekend made one other disturbing discovery brought on by Lake Mead's plummeting water stage: a body in a barrel police say is a possible murder sufferer from the Nineteen Eighties.

"The lake has drained dramatically over the past 15 years," stated Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Murder Lieutenant Ray Spencer. "It's possible that we will find extra our bodies which have been dumped in Lake Mead" because the water level drops more.