Lake Powell loses 40,000 acres of water after accidental release, officials say

GLEN CANYON NATIONAL RECREATION AREA — Lake Powell suffered an accidental haircut last year, according to officials overseeing the nation's second-largest reservoir.

The Bureau of Reclamation told the Colorado Sun they accidentally released 40,000 acre-feet of water. This happened while trying to balance the movement of a large amount of water around the Colorado River basin in 2023.

Utah's Colorado River Commissioner Gene Shawcroft told KSL NewsRadio the Bureau is working to balance millions of acre-feet of water, between paying back water borrowed from Flaming Reservoirs Gorge and Blue Mesa and the very wet winter that followed soon after.

Water from the reservoirs was used as an emergency source for Lakes Powell and Mead during the height of the drought. These versions ended in early 2023.

“The hydrology has changed dramatically,” Shawcroft said. “It was a unique situation.”

Shawcroft said this type of situation is not normal. The drastic change in conditions in turn made it more difficult for authorities to get water where it was supposed to go.

Under the circumstances, Shawcroft said, “It's a very good operation,” speaking of the performance of the Bureau of Reclamation.

“40,000 acre feet is less than half a percent of everything that was moved,” Shawcroft said. “I think it’s pretty remarkable.”

What happens next?

A bureau spokesperson told the Colorado Sun that the 40,000 acre-feet of water would not be put back in place. That's because it falls within the margin of error outlined in the 2007 Colorado River Interim Guidelines, which were signed by all states that use the river's water, including Utah.

However, Shawcroft said the Upper Basin, of which Utah is a part, will be credited for this accidental release as part of its normal downstream obligations to the Lower Basin states.

Shawcroft said a Utah household uses about 1 acre-foot of water per year. If it had been allocated as such, it could have supplied water to approximately 40,000 Utah homes for a year.

However, Lake Powell can hold a total of more than 23 million acre-feet of water. It is currently just under 39% full and still absorbing water from what remains of spring runoff.

Forty million people in seven states rely on the Colorado River for their drinking and irrigation water. This includes Utah as well as Mexico.

Utah has rights to a little more than 11 percent of its allocation from the Colorado River. This alone provides the Beehive State with more than a quarter of its annual water supply.