Colorado River Reservoirs Too Low, Government Postpones Publications


The level of Lake Powell is currently at an elevation of 3,523 feet, 177 feet below capacity. The inlets that allow the water running through the dam to generate hydroelectricity are at 3,490 feet.

Hydropower is partly beneficial in maintaining the stability of power grids because the amount of electricity produced can be quickly changed to help the grid meet demand. In her letter, Ms. Trujillo said that if Powell reaches 3,490 feet, “the western power grid will experience uncertain risk and instability.”

Additionally, he wrote that water supplies to the Western and Southwestern states would be “subjected to increased operational uncertainty.” Near the dam, Page, Ariz. and water supplies to a nearby Native tribe would be particularly at risk, he wrote, because their water intakes are at the same height as hydroelectric purchases.

Ms Trujillo wrote that the dam itself would face “unprecedented reliability challenges” because with hydroelectric inputs above the water level, lake water would have to be passed through the dam using lower tunnels not designed for continuous use. “We are approaching working conditions that occurred about 60 years ago and for which we have only very limited actual working experience,” she wrote.

Brad Udall, a senior climate scientist at Colorado State University, said in the letter that concerns about the reliability of the power grid and dam have not really been raised in all drought contingency planning over the past few decades.

“We’ve put a lot of effort into producing a plan,” said Mr Udall, of what would happen when reservoirs fell to critical levels. “And what we’ve learned, unfortunately, is that these plans are totally inadequate. All of a sudden these new problems arise and they weren’t thought of before and are really important.”



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