Lake Powell officers 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 be held back in Lake Powell itself, as a substitute 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, in keeping with the bureau, although its full capability is round 25 million acre-feet.

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

The agency stated in a statement Tuesday's choice was supposed to protect "hydropower technology, the facility'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 because it considers longer-term measures.

"Now we have by no means taken this step earlier than, but the potential risk on the horizon calls for immediate motion," Assistant Secretary of Water and Science, Tanya Trujillo advised reporters. "We have to work collectively to stabilize the reservoir earlier than we face a larger disaster."

Lake Powell has dropped round 100 toes 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 capability to generate energy.

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

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

The choices made for Lake Powell also affect its downstream neighbor, Lake Mead, which is the largest reservoir within the country.

Water cuts for many who depend on Lake Mead began in January, and Tuesday's resolution may result in further restrictions.

Lake Mead's water level is now low sufficient to expose one of the reservoir's original, 1971 water intake valves for the first time. The valve can now not draw water, in line with the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the agency liable for managing water resources for two.2 million individuals 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 likely murder sufferer from the Eighties.

"The lake has drained dramatically over the last 15 years," stated Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Homicide Lieutenant Ray Spencer. "It's doubtless that we are going to discover further bodies that have been dumped in Lake Mead" because the water degree drops more.