The Bureau of Reclamation has released the 2022 operating conditions for Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Drought is causing both lakes to be at lower levels than normal, which is affecting irrigation for farms, hydropower and household water for millions in the West.
According to the Bureau, the majority of the flow for the Colorado River comes from the upper portions of the Colorado River Basin located in the Rocky Mountains. This spring, the upper basin was exceptionally dry, with runoff in Lake Powell only totaling 26% of the average runoff generally seen during the April through July months.
"Today, @usbr released its 2022 operating conditions for Lake Powell and Lake Mead. With news of worsening drought conditions, the bureau is committed to working with all partners in the basin and Mexico on the path ahead," the U.S. Department of Interior wrote in an Aug. 16 Twitter post.
On Aug. 16, officials declared the first-ever water shortage from the Colorado River, which serves more that 40 million people in the West, NPR News reported.
Lake Mead, formed by the Hoover Dam in the 1930s, according to NPR, supplies hydropower, irrigation for farms and household water for New Mexico, California, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and areas of Mexico.
Water from three reservoirs in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming have been drained to maintain water levels at Lake Powell in order to protect the electric grid powered by the Glen Canyon Dam.
