Flaming Gorge Will Release 500,000 Acre-Feet In Attempt To Maintain Glen Canyon Power Output
Flaming Gorge reservoir in Wyoming will release 500,000 acre-feet of water under a new Drought Operations Plan to help prop up dangerously low water levels at Lake Powell. The plan, approved Thursday by the Upper Colorado River Commission, does not call for any water to be released from Blue Mesa west of Gunnison, but also does not rule out the possibility of that being an option in the future.
The 2022 Drought Operations Plan, agreed on by the four Upper Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah will now go to the secretary of the interior for final approval. The amount of water released at Flaming Gorge will equate to a 15-foot drop in the water level at that reservoir which is a major component of southwest Wyoming’s recreation economy.
“Developing the 2022 Drought Response Operations Plan is an unprecedented and significant action by the Upper Colorado River Basin states to protect the Colorado River System for all who rely on it,” Colorado River Commissioner Becky Mitchell said in a statement.
Last year, the Department of the Interior pursued emergency action that included releasing 36,000 acre-feet from Blue Mesa and 125,000 acre-feet from Flaming Gorge to help prop up the water level at Lake Powell. The Utah reservoir currently sits about 3,522 feet above sea level; 3,490 feet is the level at which Glen Canyon Dam can no longer generate hydropower, known as “minimum power pool.”
EDIT
https://coloradosun.com/2022/04/21/blue-mesa-flaming-gorge-lake-powell/
= new reply since forum marked as read
