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

Step one is releasing extra water from upstream on the Colorado River this 12 months. The second is water will likely be held back in Lake Powell itself, instead of being sent 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 response to the bureau, though its full capability is around 25 million acre-feet.

With out the emergency steps, the bureau estimated there was about a 25% probability the Glen Canyon Dam may 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 mentioned in a press release Tuesday's resolution was supposed to guard "hydropower generation, the power's key infrastructure, and the water provide for town of Page, Arizona, and the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation."

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

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

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

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 previously told CNN. "Judgment day being when we haven't any water to provide anyone."

The selections made for Lake Powell additionally 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 decision might lead to further restrictions.

Lake Mead's water degree is now low enough to reveal one of many reservoir's unique, 1971 water intake valves for the primary time. The valve can no longer draw water, in accordance with the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the company answerable for managing water sources 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 degree: a physique in a barrel police say is a probable murder victim from the Eighties.

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