Lake Powell, the 2nd-largest reservoir in the US, is over 80 feet lower than it was 8 years ago and 170 feet lower than the last time it was nearly full in 1999.
Spring snowmelt inflows are projected at just 13% of normal, the lowest on record. The lake could fall to 3,490 feet as soon as August, roughly 30 feet below the previous all-time low.
3,490 feet is "minimum power pool," the level below which Glen Canyon Dam can no longer generate hydropower for 5 million people across 7 states.
In a desperate move by the Bureau of Reclamation, up to 1 million acre-feet, nearly a third of Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming, will be released downstream to stabilize Powell.
This water crisis facing the Southwestern US will affect tens of millions of people, and it's not going anywhere.
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