CNN
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Lake Powell, the second-largest human-made reservoir within the US, has misplaced almost 7% of its potential storage capability since 1963, when Glen Canyon Dam was constructed, a brand new report exhibits.
Along with water loss as a consequence of an intense multiyear drought, the US Geological Survey and the Bureau of Reclamation report discovered, Lake Powell confronted a mean annual loss in storage capability of about 33,270 acre-feet, or 11 billion gallons, per yr between 1963 and 2018.
That’s sufficient water to fill the Reflecting Pool on the Nationwide Mall about 1,600 occasions.
The capability of the reservoir is shrinking due to sediments flowing in from the Colorado and San Juan rivers, in line with the report. These sediments settle on the backside of the reservoir and reduce the overall quantity of water the reservoir can maintain.
As of Monday, Lake Powell was round 25% full, in line with knowledge from the Bureau of Reclamation.
It’s dangerous information for a area already dealing with water shortages and excessive wildfires as a result of drought. Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration drought consultants mentioned final week these situations are anticipated to at the very least proceed – if not worsen – within the coming months.
Lake Powell is a crucial reservoir within the Colorado River Basin. Each Lake Powell and close by Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, have drained at an alarming fee. In August, the federal authorities declared a water scarcity on the Colorado River for the primary time after Lake Mead’s water stage plunged to unprecedented lows, triggering necessary water consumption cuts for states within the Southwest that started in January.
And final week, Lake Powell dipped beneath the crucial threshold of three,525 toes above sea stage, sparking extra issues about water provide and hydropower technology tens of millions of individuals within the West depend on for electrical energy.
The importance of the dwindling water provide alongside the Colorado can’t be overstated.
The system provides water for greater than 40 million folks dwelling throughout seven Western states and Mexico. Lakes Powell and Mead present a crucial provide of consuming water and irrigation for a lot of throughout the area, together with rural farms, ranches and native communities.
“It’s vitally essential we’ve got the best-available scientific data like this report to supply a transparent understanding of water availability in Lake Powell as we plan for the long run,” Tanya Trujillo, assistant secretary for water and science with the US Division of Inside, mentioned in a press release. “The Colorado River system faces a number of challenges, together with the results of a 22-year-long drought and the elevated impacts of local weather change.”
