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 might 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 practically 1 million acre-feet of water. The reservoir contained about 5.8 million acre-feet of water as of Tuesday, based on the bureau, though its full capacity is round 25 million acre-feet.

Without 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 properties and businesses in seven states.

The company said in a statement Tuesday's determination was supposed to guard "hydropower technology, the power's key infrastructure, and the water supply for the town of Page, Arizona, and the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation."

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

"We now have 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 told reporters. "We need to work together to stabilize the reservoir before we face a larger crisis."

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

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

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

The choices made for Lake Powell also affect its downstream neighbor, Lake Mead, which is the biggest reservoir in the nation.

Water cuts for many who rely on Lake Mead began in January, and Tuesday's choice might result in additional restrictions.

Lake Mead's water degree is now low enough to reveal one of the reservoir's original, 1971 water consumption valves for the primary time. The valve can not draw water, according to the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the company answerable for managing water resources for 2.2 million people in southern Nevada, together with Las Vegas.

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

"The lake has drained dramatically over the last 15 years," said Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Murder Lieutenant Ray Spencer. "It's possible that we'll discover extra bodies which were dumped in Lake Mead" because the water level drops extra.