As Lake Powell Shrinks, Marinas Are Having to Adapt to Dwindling Water Levels
Lake Powell is about 23% full, and officials are delivering up to 1 million acre-feet from upstream to keep it above critical levels.
- Lake Powell, the second-largest U.S. reservoir, is nearing historic lows at about 23% capacity and sits roughly 33 feet from levels where hydropower production becomes impossible.
- Record-Dry winters and extreme heat are pummeling the lake toward historic lows; together with Lake Mead, the two reservoirs are at their lowest levels in nearly 70 years.
- Antelope Point Marina plans to spend about $81 million extending ramps to maintain access, while Bullfrog Bay's new marina project costs an estimated $73.4 million. Wahweap Stateline ramps are being continually extended.
- Up to 1 million acre-feet of water is being delivered from Flaming Gorge Reservoir through next April to maintain critical levels. "We'll be able to launch no matter what," Kenneth Runnels, chief administrator with Antelope Point Holdings, said.
- More than 40 million people across seven states, tribal nations, and Mexico rely on the Colorado River. Federal officials are expected to soon announce a preferred short-term plan for how the states should share dwindling resources.
24 Articles
24 Articles
Associated Press News
As Lake Powell shrinks, marinas are having to adapt to dwindling water levels
Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in the United States, is shrinking. Overuse, drought and climate change have pummeled the lake fed by the imperiled Colorado River to near historic lows, made worse by the driest winter on record and extreme heat.
Water levels drop historically low at Elephant Butte exposing 50-year-old debris and artifacts
ELEPHANT BUTTE, N.M. (KRQE) – Over the last week, photos have been circulating online of trash and debris becoming exposed at Elephant Butte Lake State Park. Historically low water levels at the lake are exposing 50-plus-year-old debris, as water levels have dropped 36 feet since Memorial Day. The water sits at 1.8% of its capacity [...]
Hanford Sentinel
‘A five-alarm fire’: Western reservoirs that supply California fall to record low levels
Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the country’s two largest reservoirs, have fallen to their lowest combined levels on record, a grim marker in the deepening water crisis across seven states that depend on the Colorado River. The two reservoirs are…
Colorado River Crisis Deepens With Record Reservoir Lows
Lake Mead and Lake Powell have fallen to their lowest combined levels on record, underscoring the growing strain on the Colorado River as the Trump administration prepares a long-term plan to address worsening water shortages across the West. Researchers say the two reservoirs now contain less water than at any point on record, surpassing the...
Lake Powell, Lake Mead sink toward historic lows as Colorado River crisis deepens
PARK CITY, Utah — The Colorado River’s two largest reservoirs are approaching historic lows after an exceptionally dry winter produced little spring runoff across the basin. Lake Powell, which straddles the Utah-Arizona border, stood at roughly 22% of capacity in early July and could fall to its lowest level since the reservoir began filling in the 1960s, according to federal projections and reporting by The Guardian. Lake Mead, downstream near …
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