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

The first step is releasing extra water from upstream on the Colorado River this year. The second is water shall be held back in Lake Powell itself, instead of being sent to downstream states.

The US Bureau of Reclamation expects the dual actions will boost Lake Powell by nearly 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 capability is round 25 million acre-feet.

With out the emergency steps, the bureau estimated there was a few 25% likelihood the Glen Canyon Dam may have stopped producing hydropower by January. The dam generates energy for as many as 5.8 million homes and businesses in seven states.

The agency stated in a statement Tuesday's choice was meant to guard "hydropower generation, the power's key infrastructure, and the water provide for town of Web page, Arizona, and the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation."

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

"We've got by no means taken this step before, however the potential threat on the horizon demands immediate action," Assistant Secretary of Water and Science, Tanya Trujillo advised reporters. "We have to work together to stabilize the reservoir before we face a bigger crisis."

Lake Powell has dropped around 100 feet in the final three years because the West has been besieged by drought. As the water degree has fallen, Glen Canyon Dam has misplaced about 16% of its capability to generate energy.

Bryan Hill, normal supervisor of the public energy utility in Web page, Arizona, likened the state of affairs to judgment day.

"We're knocking on the door of judgment day," Hill previously advised CNN. "Judgment day being when we haven't any water to offer anybody."

The decisions made for Lake Powell also have an effect on its downstream neighbor, Lake Mead, which is the biggest reservoir in the nation.

Water cuts for individuals who rely on Lake Mead started in January, and Tuesday's resolution might result in further restrictions.

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

Officials over the weekend made another disturbing discovery brought on by Lake Mead's plummeting water stage: a physique in a barrel police say is a likely homicide sufferer from the 1980s.

"The lake has drained dramatically over the past 15 years," mentioned Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Murder Lieutenant Ray Spencer. "It's probably that we are going to discover further bodies which were dumped in Lake Mead" because the water level drops extra.