Overview
- Federal forecasters on Thursday said Lake Powell will get about 800,000 acre-feet of spring runoff, or 13% of normal, the worst on record.
- The Bureau of Reclamation is releasing water from Flaming Gorge to bolster Lake Powell and keep Glen Canyon Dam producing hydropower.
- Arizona, California and Nevada proposed conserving up to 1 million acre-feet per year through 2028, and federal officials are now reviewing the plan.
- Upper Basin leaders called the Lower Basin offer a first step, said it is not enough to protect the system, and urged the use of a mediator.
- Without a broader deal, federal regulators could set cuts under long-standing river rules, a move experts warn could fall hardest on central Arizona and some tribal nations.