Overview
- Researchers' mid-July analysis found the two reservoirs at their lowest combined storage since measurements began, with Lake Powell about 23% full and Lake Mead about 27% full.
- The Bureau of Reclamation has begun emergency transfers of water from upstream reservoirs such as Flaming Gorge and launched conservation payments to keep water in storage.
- The agency has negotiated short-term deals including a $65 million payment to the Metropolitan Water District and is preparing formal guidance on mandatory cuts to protect deliveries and operations.
- Lake Powell is within roughly 33 feet of the minimum power pool and could hit that threshold by next spring if declines continue, which would stop hydropower at Glen Canyon Dam and complicate downstream releases.
- The crisis is driven by long-term overallocation, record-low mountain snowpack and warming, and it is already disrupting local economies and recreation as marinas, ramps and tourism adapt while states remain deadlocked on a long-term agreement.