Daniel Trotta

(Reuters] – U.S. officials have announced extraordinary measures to raise water levels in Lake Powell. The artificial reservoir, located along the Colorado River, is so low that it threatens the generation of hydroelectric energy for seven Western states.

The Bureau of Reclamation is releasing an additional 500,000 acres (616.7 millions cubic meters) of water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir, upstream at the Wyoming-Utah border. This will allow for a prolonged drought that has been exacerbated due to climate change. It will then flow into Lake Powell.

Officials stated that 480,000 more acres will remain in the artificial lake near the Utah-Arizona border.

Tanya Trujillo from the Interior Department, assistant secretary for science and water, stated that although this was a new step, it is necessary to act quickly.

One-acre is 326,000gallons, which equals 1.48 Million Liters. This water can be used to provide enough water for 1 or 2 households per year.

According to the bureau, the additional 980,000 acres-foots in Lake Powell will keep Glen Canyon Dam’s hydroelectric power online. This is due to the Colorado River being dammed in Arizona’s northern Arizona during the 1960s. It will also raise the reservoir’s record-low surface of 16 feet (4.88 metres).

The 1,320-megawatt power plant, which generates electricity for thousands of customers in Wyoming, Utah and Colorado would not be able to produce electricity if Lake Powell, America’s second largest reservoir, fell another 32 feet.

In the past 20 years, the west United States saw the dryest period in recorded history. According to some experts, the phrase drought does not accurately describe how conditions might return to normal.

Professor at Northern Arizona University’s School of Earth and Sustainability, Denielle Perry said that “these reservoirs will never be filled again in our lifetime.”

These new measures will increase pressure on Lake Mead which, at its largest, is the nation’s biggest reservoir. It also falls below Lake Powell, and it has fallen to a record low. Lake Mead was formed in 1930s by Hoover Dam and is crucial for the water supply to 25 million people. On Sunday, a barrel with human remains found on the shoreline receding from Lake Powell, it’s believed, had fallen to such a low level that the barge, which contained approximately 3,000 bottles, was discovered.