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

Step one is releasing extra water from upstream on the Colorado River this year. The second is water will be held back in Lake Powell itself, as an alternative of being sent to downstream states.

The US Bureau of Reclamation expects the twin actions will enhance Lake Powell by nearly 1 million acre-feet of water. The reservoir contained about 5.8 million acre-feet of water as of Tuesday, based on the bureau, although 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 power for as many as 5.8 million houses and businesses in seven states.

The agency mentioned in a statement Tuesday's determination was meant to protect "hydropower technology, the facility'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 purchase the federal authorities 12 months as it considers longer-term measures.

"Now we have never taken this step earlier than, however the potential danger on the horizon demands immediate action," Assistant Secretary of Water and Science, Tanya Trujillo instructed reporters. "We have to work together to stabilize the reservoir before we face a bigger disaster."

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

Bryan Hill, normal manager of the public power utility in Web page, Arizona, likened the state of affairs 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 anybody."

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

Water cuts for many who rely on Lake Mead started in January, and Tuesday's resolution could lead to further restrictions.

Lake Mead's water level is now low enough to reveal one of many reservoir's original, 1971 water intake valves for the first time. The valve can not draw water, in response to the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the agency responsible for managing water sources for two.2 million people in southern Nevada, including Las Vegas.

Officers over the weekend made another disturbing discovery introduced on by Lake Mead's plummeting water stage: a physique in a barrel police say is a possible murder sufferer from the Nineteen Eighties.

"The lake has drained dramatically during the last 15 years," stated Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Homicide Lieutenant Ray Spencer. "It is possible that we will discover extra our bodies that have been dumped in Lake Mead" as the water level drops more.