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2011 could turn out to be the second-best year ever for Lake Powell inflows
This Landsat 5 image from a NASA satellite shows Lake Powell on Aug. 6 2010. Click on the image to visit a NASA Earth Observatory website that documents the year-to-year changes in Lake Powell.
By Summit Voice
SUMMIT COUNTY — Flooding in the high country in early spring and summer may have been a nuisance for some, but in the big picture, it helped push Colorado River inflows into Lake Powell to near record levels. At times, Powell was rising at the rate of about 12 inches per day, bringing the water level up by 50 feet for the runoff season so far.
The Bureau of Reclamation reported that July inflow along totaled about 4.5 million acre feet (278 percent of average), the second-best year since Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1963. Only 1995 was wetter, with a total inflow of 4.41 million acre feet in July. Total inflows for the runoff season, April through July, reached 12.9 million acre feet, which is 162 percent of average. June inflow was even higher, totaling 5.4 million acre feet.
This Landsat 5 image from NASA was taken Aug. 8 2011, about the time of year that Lake Powell water levels peak. The differences are subtle, but careful observation shows the submerged areas wider and extending farther upstream in the side canyons.
Lake Powell, a key reservoir for the entire Colorado River Basin, has seen below average inflows, and the water level has been on a downward trend for about a decade, with only a few exceptions. The lowest level ever was recorded in the spring of 2005, when Powell was only at 33 percent of capacity.
Powell’s storage, which provides irrigation and municipal water in Arizona, Nevada and Southern California, provides a buffer against calls for more water from the Upper Colorado River Basin.
As of late July, the reservoir was 76 percent full, storing 18.6 million acre feet. The last time Powell was at this level was in October 2001. The Bureau of Reclamation expects that the water level in Powell will peak in early July as the inflow from the Colorado River dwindles. The outflow is currently at about 24,100 cubic feet per second, which is very near the full capacity of the Glen Canyon power plant.
Higher-than-average inflows are predicted through the rest of the summer, with a total projected inflow of 16.7 million acre feet, about 139 percent of average. That’s good news for Lake Mead, the downstream reservoir that’s critically important for Las Vegas. Lake Mead is 20 feet higher than it was last year this time, and projected to climb another 30 feet in the next 12 months with continued releases from Powell.
The last time Lake Powell was close to being completely full was in the summer of 1999, at 97 percent of capacity (18.6 million acre feet). From 2000 to 2004, inflows were well below average and storage dropped to 8 million acre feet, just 33 percent of capacity, in April 2005. Above average runoff in 2005 and 2008 brought some relief, but the Bureau of Reclamation noted that the current level in Lake Powell is still somewhat below the desired operating level for this time of year. Overall storage capacity in the Colorado River Basin as of late July was 65.9 percent of capacity.
Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Environment, rivers, Snow and weather, Summit County news, water Tagged: | Colorado River, Colorado River Basin, Environment, Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell, Lake Powell water levels, NASA, Summit County News, United States Bureau of Reclamation, water
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Powder's falling at Monarch!! Have you reserved your spot yet?
Innovative energy underwrites coverage of energy stories.
To some, this comment may seem off topic, but it’s food for thought. Considering the article in the Sentinel about the gas fracking & halliburton, there is one thing that the story didn’t mention, that being what is done with the fluids that are used in the process and where are they stored? Like the Tar Sands process in Alberta, the enormous amounts of water required are useless, require storing somewhere. That storage is usually in ponds above ground, which can be a ticking time bomb in more ways than one. Consider what could happen to those storage ponds if they collapse and find their way into the creeks and rivers that ultimately feed into the Colorado River and Lake Powell? Between this & the pipe line from Alberta to Texas, a large swath of the U.S. could be rendered useless if disaster strikes! Before the powers to be jump on this as a “no it can’t happen here band wagon”, remember “Murphy’s Law”.
The pointer to the time-lapse website is great. Thanks.