Aerial view of Glen Canyon Dam, Glen Canyon Dam Bridge, the Colorado River, and Highway 89 at the edge of Lake Powell on the Utah/Arizona border. Photo credit: Getty Images
KANE COUNTY, Utah – Lake Powell will be receiving a much-needed boost amid dropping water levels. Over 156 billion gallons of water will be transferred to Lake Powell from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
This water was originally set to flow to Lake Mead through the Colorado River.
The decision was made to move this water because the reservoir is dangerously close to hitting 3,490 feet of elevation. If this were to happen, the water level would be too low to generate hydropower at the Glen Canyon dam.
Executive Director of the Utah Rivers Council, Zach Frankel, said the solution will only help keep the Glen Canyon Dam producing electricity for a little longer.
Frankel said combating climate change and finding ways to conserve water should be our long-term focus since most of our reservoir water comes from snowpack runoff. He also warned that the Glen Canyon Dam will stop producing hydroelectricity possibly within the next 18 months.
Although a resolution has been reached, the future of Lake Powell is still in question. This plan is seen by many as potentially delaying the inevitable.
Contributions to this report made by Adam Small