Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir in the United States, faces a severe risk of plunging to unprecedentedly low levels this year after a historically bleak winter snowpack failed to replenish its water supply.
The 185-mile Colorado River reservoir currently stands at approximately 23% of its total capacity, which translates to roughly 5.6 million acre-feet.
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While Lake Powell dropped below this mark for a brief period three years ago, those 2023 levels occurred during the winter season when the reservoir typically hits its lowest point.
Data from the US Bureau of Reclamation shows that spring runoff previously managed to elevate the water levels back to 9.6 million acre-feet by June of that year.
Conditions differ drastically this season following a winter of historically low mountain snowpack combined with a record-breaking heatwave that swept across the southwest in March.
Water levels at the reservoir barely experienced any rise this spring, and it ended June below the annual low recorded the previous month despite supplemental water releases from the upstream Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
Aside from the short period observed in 2023, the water level at the reservoir has not dropped this low since June of 1965, which was just two years after authorities began filling it.
Experts Warn of Unprecedented Low Conditions
"What's unique this year is that there was no recovery at all," said Jack Schmidt, the director of Utah State University's Center for Colorado River Studies.
