Monday December 19, 2022
The Gazette —
As the Colorado River crisis deepens, a new federal analysis of flows into Lake Powell shows that they will continue to plummet through 2025, before beginning to partially recover.
James Prairie, a hydrologic engineer for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, said flows are likely to be just 24% of average this year, making it unlikely under various planning scenarios that Powell will have enough water for the Upper Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming to meet their legal commitment to deliver a minimum of 7 million acre-feet of water to the Lower Basin. That amount is already reduced from the historical delivery obligation due to low flows on the river.
The news comes as more than 1,300 of the river’s most powerful water users gathered last week in Las Vegas for the Colorado River Water Users Association Conference, the largest annual meeting on river issues.
This year it has sold out for the first time in its history, said Crystal Thompson, communications manager at the Central Arizona Project, a major user of Colorado River water and a conference organizer.