Electrical Output @ Glen Canyon Down 16% W. Lake At 3555'; 3515' Projected Low For This Year
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Lake Powell is the nation’s second largest reservoir. Later in July it’s projected to hit its lowest point since it first filled in the 1960s, set to drop below its previous low set in 2005. The reservoir’s level is currently at 3,557 feet above sea level. It’s projected to drop to 3,515 feet by next spring. At an elevation of 3,490 feet, hydropower production at the dam is no longer possible. Warming temperatures from climate change, and the West’s inability to conserve, are to blame.
Inside the dam, water moves through generators to churn out power for 5 million people in seven Western states: Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska. As the lake declines, its power production does too, because there’s less water pressure to drive the turbines. The pressure that builds behind a dam and makes generators more efficient is called hydraulic head. With a coming shortage declaration from the federal government and restrictions on water deliveries spelled out in the river’s 2007 interim guidelines, Glen Canyon Dam will pass less water in 2022, and do so with less hydraulic head, meaning its overall hydropower production is set to decline even further.
Hydropower production at Glen Canyon has dropped about 16% and its capacity has decreased about 20% since the year 2000. Inflows to Powell from the Colorado and San Juan rivers this year are among the three lowest on record, at 24% of the long-term average. Downstream demands and longstanding agreements among the basin states will push Powell to an historic low, with no relief in sight. Similar declines at Hoover Dam are also happening.
“Even with efficiency improvements, impacts to hydropower generation are anticipated to continue,” Bureau of Reclamation hydrologists wrote in a March 2021 report. “Current projections for hydropower generation at Hoover Dam indicate that there is a relatively high probability of a 0.5 percent to 2.5 percent reduction in hydropower generation from year to year over the next 5 years.” “It’s not sustainable to continue to release that volume of water when you have not that much coming in,” Martin said.
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https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/hydropower-colorado-river/
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