skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, November 21, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Matt Gaetz withdraws bid to be attorney general in Trump administration; Bomb cyclone' turns deadly in Washington state; Coalition defeats repeal of WA Climate Act to save environment, jobs; ME businesses boost apprenticeships to counter workforce shortage; Advocates: NYC must help homeless student population.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transgender rights in Congress, a historic win for Utah's youngest elected official, scrutiny of Democratic Party leadership, and the economic impact of Trump's tax proposals highlight America's shifting political and social landscape.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The CDC has a new plan to improve the health of rural Americans, updated data could better prepare folks for flash floods like those that devastated Appalachia, and Native American Tribes could play a key role in the nation's energy future.

River Managers Take Emergency Steps to Refill Lake Powell

play audio
Play

Monday, July 19, 2021   

PAGE, Ariz. -- The federal Bureau of Reclamation is taking emergency measures to shore up water levels in Lake Powell, to preserve the reservoir's ability to generate hydropower.

Late last week, officials ordered an additional release of 50,000 feet per second from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming, to maintain Lake Powell's water levels at 3,500 feet. Bureau officials project without this intervention, water levels would soon fall below the amount necessary to run the generators at Glen Canyon Dam.

Gary Wockner, executive director of the nonprofit Save the Colorado, said the upstream water release is too little, too late.

"This idea of just letting more water out of the other reservoirs is, at best, a very short-term band-aid," Wockner argued. "It does not solve anything. It only just elongates the problem; it doesn't actually address the problem."

Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir in the U.S., provides power and delivers water to 40 million people in the Lower Colorado River basin, including millions of Arizonans. Agricultural interests would see water cutbacks first, before they would reach residential users.

The Bureau also plans additional water releases from Blue Mesa Reservoir in Colorado and Navajo Reservoir in New Mexico later this year.

Wockner charged the Colorado River's managers with being more interested in keeping the generators turning than raising the water levels.

"This is really more about electricity than water," Wockner contended. "And here's the thing: There's all sorts of alternatives to make electricity, but there are no alternatives to make more water. Letting more water out of Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming doesn't fix anything."

Both Lake Powell and it's larger cousin, Lake Mead, are currently at 35% of water-storage capacity and dropping. The move to increase inflows is part of a 2019 agreement about how to apportion Colorado River resources during a continued drought.

Save the Colorado is among the groups advocating Lake Powell be shut down, to let the Colorado River return to its original course, a change Congress would ultimately have to make.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Since its founding, the CCA program has generated more than $2 billion for transportation and infrastructure upgrades, clean air and water initiatives, utility bill rebates, community solar, indoor air quality improvements and more. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

On Election Day, a broad coalition of conservationists, labor, and others helped defeat a ballot initiative to repeal Washington State's Climate …


Social Issues

play sound

In the wake of Donald Trump's re-election, teachers nationwide are bracing for more censorship battles. Currently, more than 40 laws in 22 states …

Social Issues

play sound

A new annual report shows New York City has more than 146,000 homeless students. The Advocates for Children of New York report finds this is an …


More than 3,000 Maine apprentices were actively working on industry-recognized skill certification in 2022, according to the Maine Department of Labor. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

State officials in Maine said they are working to expand the number of registered apprenticeship programs to help counter a persistent worker shortage…

Social Issues

play sound

School boards are nonpartisan, but a recent trend in Wyoming shows far-right candidates are bringing national politics to local elections. Public …

In 2020, roughly 9.9% of all U-S adults over age 20 were, or 28.6 million people, were affected by cardiovascular disease, according to a review article from the American Heart Association. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

It is National Rural Health Day and experts are flagging research showing increasing health disparities between urban and rural places, including in …

Social Issues

play sound

President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have promised to pass a new tax bill, and a new report breaks down the expected winners and …

Social Issues

play sound

Recent surveys show a majority of North Dakotans want housing that allows them to live independently as they age. But there aren't a lot of suitable …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021