ST. GEORGE — Federal water managers say they believe Lake Powell will rise anywhere between 50 and 90 feet this spring and summer after the nation’s second-largest reservoir dropped to its all-time low again earlier this year.
The reservoir’s water level rose to 3,524.2 feet elevation by Tuesday, representing about 22.7% capacity. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials say that the water levels could rise to anywhere between 3,575 feet and 3,615 feet by the end of June, according to an outlook published last week. The most probable scenario is that the reservoir jumps to 3,590 feet elevation, or about 65 feet, by June, before dropping to 3,573.47 feet elevation by the end of the year.
The lake would remain about 110-126.5 feet below full-pool status in the probable scenario but it would also place the reservoir between 80 and 100 feet above the minimum pool level needed to generate power.
The increase comes as the National Weather Service’s Colorado Basin River Forecast Center adjusted its snowmelt forecast to project that 1.3 million acre-feet worth of water will flow toward Lake Powell over the next few months, 177% of the average.
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Written by CARTER WILLIAMS, KSL.com.