Environmental

Reclamation announces 2025 operating conditions for Lake Powell and Lake Mead

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Reclamation announces 2025 operating conditions for Lake Powell and Lake Mead
(News reports focus on drought's affect on power production at sites like Hoover Dam, but overlook more abundant hydro supplies in places like the Pacific Northwest.)

The Bureau of Reclamation has released the Colorado River Basin August 2024 24-Month Study, and in 2025 Lake Powell will operate in a Mid-Elevation Release Tier and Lake Mead will operate in a Level 1 Shortage Condition.

The Colorado River Basin provides water for more than 40 million people, fuels hydropower resources in seven U.S. states, is a crucial resource for 30 Tribal Nations and two states in Mexico, and supports 5.5 million acres of agriculture and agricultural communities across the western U.S. In 2021, in response to historic drought, the Department of the Interior and Reclamation initiated a consensus-based process to update near-term operating guidelines for the river’s two largest dams – Glen Canyon and Hoover.

Glen Canyon Dam impounds Lake Powell, the largest storage unit of the Colorado River Storage Project, and provides water for a 1,320 MW hydroelectric powerhouse. Hoover Dam impounds Lake Mead and provides water for a 2,078 MW hydropower plant.

Based on study projections, in water year 2025 Lake Powell will operate in a Mid-Elevation Release Tier and in calendar year 2025 Lake Mead will operate in a Level 1 Shortage Condition with required shortages by Arizona and Nevada, coupled with Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan water savings contributions. Mexico’s water delivery, which includes reductions and water savings, is consistent with Minutes 323 and 330.

While the Colorado River System continues to face low reservoir storage with Lake Powell and Lake Mead at a combined storage of 37% of capacity, investments in infrastructure improvements and system conservation have helped stabilize the Colorado River System in the near term, Reclamation said. Reclamation is leveraging nearly $13 billion in investments across the west through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. Overall, investments will lead to at least 3 million acre-feet of system water conservation savings through the end of 2026, when the current guidelines expire.  

Water conservation agreements implemented under the Lower and Upper Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Programs bridge the immediate need to protect the Colorado River System while moving toward more durable, long-term solutions. Additionally, Reclamation recently announced a funding opportunity for ecosystem and habitat restoration projects in the Upper Colorado River Basin to address impacts caused by drought.

2025 operations

Lake Powell Mid-Elevation Release Tier: The study projects Lake Powell’s Jan. 1, 2025, elevation to be 3,574.08 feet – about 126 feet below full pool and about 84 feet above minimum power pool. Lake Powell is projected to release 7.48 million acre-feet of water in 2025.  

Lake Mead Level 1 Shortage Condition: The study projects Lake Mead’s Jan. 1, 2025, elevation to be 1,062.32 feet – about 13 feet below the shortage determination trigger of 1,075 feet. The required shortage reductions and water savings contributions are:

Arizona: 512,000 acre-feet of water, which is about 18% of the state’s annual apportionment.

Nevada: 21,000 acre-feet of water, which is 7% of the state’s annual apportionment.

Mexico: 80,000 acre-feet of water, which is about 5% of the country’s annual allotment.

Under the Supplement to the 2007 Colorado River Interim Guidelines, in all Lake Mead operating conditions the three lower division states will target a cumulative Reservoir Protection Conservation volume of 3 million acre-feet or more in total for calendar years 2023 through 2026, with a minimum of 1.5 million acre-feet physically conserved by the end of calendar year 2024. This volume of 1.5 million acre-feet has already been achieved as a result of investments made. This conserved water is in addition to required shortage reductions as specified in the 2007 guidelines and water savings contributions as specified in the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan Agreement. During calendar years 2024, 2025, and 2026, Mexico will take water conservation actions to cumulatively conserve an additional 400,000 acre-feet of water under Minute 330, which went into effect in April 2024.

The 2007 Interim Guidelines, the 2019 Drought Contingency Plans, and Minutes 323 and 330 expire at the end of 2026. A separate, ongoing planning process to develop post-2026 operating guidelines is under way.

Reclamation is a federal agency under Interior and is the largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the U.S.