They are using the bypass to intentionally create a high flow for a "larval trigger study".
Here's some info about when they did a similar thing back in 2022:
That's awesome!
For some reason I'd not seen that article before.
How much do we expect the lake to rise this spring/summer
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That's awesome!
For some reason I'd not seen that article before.
ndscott50
Well-Known Member
I am going to go with 3540.17 for the 2026 high water mark.....
RobertGosselin
Well-Known Member
Going out on a limb there. What if an upstream dam bursts? Also, is the New Year's Day reading taken at 1 sec after midnight? Could be closer to 3540.40.
Flaming Gorge has now reached its maximum output. They have it right at the level denoting a flood stage, around 9000 cfs. Once this arrives at Lake Powell, total input should be around 15,000 cfs and the lake will start rising slowly as if it were receiving a snowmelt. The forecast shows this going on for the foreseeable future. Flaming Gorge will drop like a rock during this period.
jayfromtexas
Well-Known Member
Pray for the hugest, most beautiful snowpack next year. Otherwise the Colorado River basin is going to be in the most rudest trouble. Been watching the Flaming Gorge graph and it's started to drop pretty quickly as the power plant has reach max capacity.
POk3s
Escalante-Class Member
All of us locals are aware…
The monsoons may be doing more, it sure seems like a wet spell in the recent days and also for the next few days.
dale eichel
Active Member
For those of you that are interested in the work being done at Hite, I have some pictures of the new raft pullout.
It's on the Northwest side of the lake. One pic is overlooking what once was Hite boat ramp and the others are of the ramp.
It's on the Northwest side of the lake. One pic is overlooking what once was Hite boat ramp and the others are of the ramp.
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River looks like if has some good flow to it.
Well the outflow at Flaming Gorge on May 6 was 8,471 CFS and Inflow was 2 CFS So on May 5th Flaming Gorge Reservoir was at 2,939,854 af
By May 6 the Flaming Gorge Reservoir was at 2,923,508 af. 16,346 af in a day. which is close to 1/2 a foot. That still has to travel about 300 miles I think. They need to build that 6 GW Solar Farm in AZ yesterday. If the problems we have with high cost gasoline and diesel is bad losing cheap electricity will only compound the pain. I don't know if they plan to release that amount each day.
Looks like FG is going to ramp the release down over a couple of days starting on May 12th. They ran at a few different outflows during this event, but roughly it is all equivalent to about 8 days at around 9000 cfs. This will get Lake Powell inflow to 12,000 to 14,000 for a similar period to give a rather small boost in elevation. At least the numbers should be slightly green for a number of days!
This also means FG will likely drop another 2.5 to 3 feet from today before the high flow event ends.
It appears the weather is going to get warm again and so the remainder of the snow pack will probably melt out soon creating a natural increased flow perhaps around the time the FG release is wrapping up. So that could keep Lake Powell inflows close to balanced to slightly positive for a bit longer.
This also means FG will likely drop another 2.5 to 3 feet from today before the high flow event ends.
It appears the weather is going to get warm again and so the remainder of the snow pack will probably melt out soon creating a natural increased flow perhaps around the time the FG release is wrapping up. So that could keep Lake Powell inflows close to balanced to slightly positive for a bit longer.
Havalina
Escalante-Class Member
I hope not a single drop from the FG makes it to Powell, until the states can figure out how to play nice with each other. It has been mentioned again from the third Sh!ter from the left, that Blue Mesa and the FG will have no recoupe plan until the states have a new compact. If I am losing my lake to pacify California, then I hope that everyone else loses theirs too. It is only fair.
Sighthound
Member
Nothing but sympathy from me. That said, I suspect it won't be too far in the future when we're going to be rethinking "water" altogether differently than we do now. Regardless the origin stories of the water reservoirs upstream from Powell and Mead and/or their original/intended purpose, the world they were built for doesn't exist any more.
The BOR talks about boosting Lake Powell by 54 feet. This surge from Flaming Gorge will add maybe a foot. Where does the rest come from?
sparkin5280
Well-Known Member
This has been discussed ad nauseam on a few different of the water threads by the best water analysts we have. I'd suggest reading all of those start to finish and your answers are in there.
California users have already conserved over 1,2 million acre-feet of water helping boost Lake Mead by 16 feet as of late 2024. New 2026 proposal California , Arizona and Nevada proposed a plan in May 2026 to cut back further on water consumption to prevent reservoirs from reaching critical low levels. Under these plans California has agreed to cut it's consumption by about 13%.. California has been quite vocal about climate change and the consequences.
I’m not sure where to find these other threads, but going back and reading this one more carefully I think what I’m getting is that this current FG release is more about simulating a flood to trigger fish growth, hence the short duration. So presumably the releases intended to shore up Lake Powell levels will come at a later time and be of a greater scope.
Anyway, thanks for the helpful response.
Havalina
Escalante-Class Member
I am not attacking you personally, but your reply is part of the problem. This is not about water conservation at this point, it is about accepting reality. If you look at the historical record water conservation by the lower states is pointless.. The upper basin states have several well documented collapses of civilizations over the past several thousand years due to long-term drought such as the Fremont and the Anastasi. The 1922 compact they took a three year average of some of the wettest years the region has ever seen, leading to a 15 to 25% over estimation of what the river actually provided at that time.
Now fast forward to today we in the northern basin have entered into another long-term mega drought. There is really only one option and that is to take an average of the last 30 years of runoff as your working medium. This is the amount of water that is realistically available on any given year. Then from there, you can realistically start to divvy it up. This would mean that before any of the states sat down and started trying to divvy up who gets what that 3 million maf should automatically be subtracted.
Only after that 3 million maf is subtracted can any sort of an actual distribution be negotiated. Then the states can start worrying about water conservation where it would actually make a difference. This concept is no different than simple range management or budgeting. Instead, it appears that Colorado and California are in a pissing contest over water that doesn’t exist. None of this has come as a surprise, as this has been a slow moving train wreck that I was studying in graduate school over 20 years ago.
As far as global warming is concerned, it is a reality. There is no trying to slow it down or stop it. That is a western European pipe dream, as there are only 800 million people in the EU and North America. There are roughly 2 1/2 billion people in India and China alone that are trying to build their economies and they are simply not going to stop. So, any attempt by the west to mitigate climate change it’s not only pointless, it’s quite condescending to the rest of the world considering we already have our developed economies. It denotes a level of privilege that only those with very comfortable lives can have.
We have bankrupted the Colorado River through over consumption. The only option we have is to spend the water that is available and not what we would like to have. Water is not a Fiat currency. It is a finite resource and it feels like the water gurus in the states have only been praying for wetter years to save them. I honestly feel like these bureaucrats should be talked to like toddlers such as when I would tell my little girl “ you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.”
Sorry for the rant, but I am disabled and fishing is all I have. All I want is to go sit on the water, watch the animals, and occasionally catch a fish while working on forgiving myself and others.
Its more than for California, but California and Imperial valley are easy to point a finger at,,,,, and conserving is a priority,regardless if its too little too late. All these lake from Flaming Gorge down through Powell to Lake Havasu were all built for controlling water during floods and during drought for irrigation and domestic use. Recreation is just a side bonus that was created. And thats what all these lakes are doing right now,,, as designed. Is it tragic? You bet! Are we all showering only once a week, and turn the shower off while scrubbing only to turn it back on to rinse? Shutting the water off while washing our hands? Not washing our cars? Not watering our lawns? Or are we all sitting back saying no the domestic use is not the problem, it doesn't use the much water. If so that really is a problem too. Because that would be conserving. Now the 1922 waterpak comes into play because back then reality is no one really was as concerned or interested in using that water but IID. They acted on it. But now every one wants it so blame them for the problem. Even our own damn state does. But LA Hollywood and San Diego still get theirs, as does Phoenix Tuscon and Vegas.
Not only are they being vocal they've actually been doing something about it and are making pretty good progress. As the 4th or 5th largest economy in the world they've made a nice dent in their CO2 emissions and other pollutants - yes they still have a ways to go but I give them credit for what they've already accomplished. They've also made good progress in dealing with their groundwater withdrawals and working on bringing things back in balance - this is a very important thing to the Colorado River Basin and the Colorado River and Lake Powell because if they do get their ground water issues figured out, every bit of improvement means somewhat less pressure on the Colorado River. The more flexibility they have means that some years they may be able to take less...
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