Overview
- Heavy rains across the Four Corners this week sent an unusually large inflow into Lake Powell, raising the reservoir roughly 7 to 10 feet and adding about 600,000 acre-feet of water.
- The San Juan River supplied an outsized share of that inflow, contributing about one-third of October runoff when it typically provides roughly 13 percent.
- Because much of the runoff entered above Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Mead saw only a minimal rise of roughly 0.06 feet while Powell showed the bulk of the gain.
- The same storms caused catastrophic flooding along the San Juan River, forcing evacuations, road closures and flood warnings for Navajo Nation communities such as Bluff, Montezuma Creek and Aneth.
- Experts say the rise gives short-term relief to low-elevation and hydropower worries but does not solve long-term shortages driven by extended drought, overallocation and warming, and federal and interstate water talks must continue.