You’ve heard about the drought in the West. You’ve probably learned the term “snow drought” this year, and you’re keenly aware that while most of the country was blasted with snow, ice, and record-low temps, most of us in the Rockies experienced a winter with almost no snow, temps well above average, and an early, hot spring that’s quickly melting what little snow managed to stick around.
To compound the problem, the Bureau of Reclamation – the federal agency in charge of the dams and water flows in the West, and most importantly, in the Colorado River Basin – just announced a likely drawdown of 1.5 million acre-feet of water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
That’s roughly a third of the reservoir’s total capacity of 3.5 million acre-feet of water. That water will make its way downstream to Lake Powell, enabling that reservoir to continue sending water downstream to California, Arizona, and Nevada, as well as generating power from the Glen Canyon Dam.
Isn’t that what reservoirs are for? A savings account for dry years?
Yes, it is. But in 2022, Flaming Gorge was drawn down by 500,000 acre-feet to aid Lake Powell. The reservoir hasn’t been topped off since, and there’s no guarantee the water being pulled from Flaming Gorge will ever be stored in the reservoir again. That means critical kokanee salmon spawning habitat will be out of reach of those prized game fish, which are a huge economic driver for the region.
To top that off, the Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam, one of the world’s most productive tailwater trout fisheries, will face higher-than-normal flows all summer long, likely into October, to fulfill the drawdown. It’ll impact the fishing to a degree, which is another huge economic driver for the region.
And what’s the point of all this? 1.5 million acre-feet of water sounds like a lot, but in terms of Lake Powell, it won’t make much of a dent. Lake Powell’s capacity is 24.3 million acre-feet of water, and it’s currently 23% full. 1.5 million acre-feet of water is roughly 20% of the 7.5 million acre-feet of water Lake Powell is supposed to send downstream each year, per the Colorado River Compact. Powell has sent 3.3 million acre-feet of water downstream in the 2026 water year, so the proposed release from Flaming Gorge will help the lake deliver on its obligations. But it won’t increase the capacity in Powell at all beyond this year.
That’s the heart of the problem. Sending this much water downstream right now is a band-aid, a fix for a system that’s clearly not working, and one that’s overextended. This is a solution to a problem created by decades of mismanagement and a refusal to conserve and develop alternate sources of water, even as population centers downstream of Lake Powell have exploded.
If this decision to drastically drawn down Flaming Gorge – and barring the advent of a string of great winters, likely never refill it – comes to fruition, what will happen if next winter is as dry as this one? Will Flaming Gorge get drained completely, sacrificed to save Powell?
There are hard choices and decisions looming quickly for everyone in the Colorado River Basin. Farming, ranching, and yes, housing development, will need to be re-evaluated against the reality of a river that’s quickly disappearing.
The worst part is it’s only April. The drought is only going to get worse from here.