Colorado River Runoff Projected at 36% of Historical Median

The Colorado Basin River Forecast Center projects that the Colorado River will deliver only 2.3 million acre-feet of water to Lake Powell during the spring runoff. This volume represents just 36% of the historical median of 6.4 million acre-feet recorded between 1991 and 2020, marking the fifth-lowest inflow since 1963.

Forecasters attribute the decline to record-low snowfall in the headwaters and the warmest winter on record across the basin, which caused snow to convert to rain and dried out soils. These conditions create a risk that Lake Powell will drop below the intake tubes for the Glen Canyon Dam hydroelectric turbines by August.

The water shortage arrives as negotiators from seven basin states remain unable to agree on a new water-sharing plan before current guidelines expire at the end of the year. The failure to reach an agreement, combined with low water levels, may lead to fallowed farmland and urban drought restrictions for 40 million people who depend on the river system.