The states of the Upper Colorado River Basin voted this week to suspend water releases from Flaming Gorge Reservoir being sent to bolster Lake Powell water levels. In April 2022, the Colorado River Authority of Utah announced the plan to release water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir to protect Lake Powell. The action was part of the Drought Contingency Plan passed in Congress and signed into law by President Trump in 2019 to avoid dangerously low Lake Powell water levels. The plan authorized the release of 500,000 acre-feet from Flaming Gorge beginning around May 1st, 2022 with plans to run through April 30th of 2023. At the time, Lake Powell’s elevation was nearing 3,500 feet and a drop to 3,490 feet would have allowed air into turbines that would affect the generation of hydroelectric power. So why did Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming vote on Monday to end the releases early? According to a KSL report, experts had informed the states that there was little chance Lake Powell would drop to 3,490 feet in the near future and so it was decided that “it’s time to stop sending water downstream and start focusing on restoring Flaming Gorge.”
