Lake Powell's Changing Water Levels Revealed in Chart

Lake Powell received good news recently after the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC) published a chart that showed rising levels of the snowpack that supplements the lake.

Lake Mead in Nevada and Arizona and Lake Powell in Utah and Arizona have suffered from a regional drought for years, and excessive water usage is slowly depleting the Colorado River faster than natural weather patterns can fill it. An above-average snowfall and excessive precipitation last spring and this winter have bolstered the water levels at Lake Powell and Lake Mead, and a new chart shared by the CBRFC shows that recent moisture-laden storms have proved beneficial for the region, which is encouraging news for Lake Powell.

"Good news for #LakePowell! The snow feeding the lake started low in early winter (around 60% of normal on Jan 1st)," the CBRFC posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday. "But thanks to a wet winter, the Upper Colorado River Basin is now near 100% of median snowpack."

The chart shows a significant jump in the snowpack in early January and another significant jump in early February. According to the chart, snowpack levels typically begin to level off in April and then plunge in the months afterward as the snow finishes melting.

Lake Powell's water levels are steadily declining but are expected to rise once the snow begins to melt. Last year, the lake began its steep rise in April. Water levels continued to climb until they reached their peak in mid-July. The levels have steadily declined since then.

As of Monday morning, Lake Powell's levels were at nearly 3,561 feet. Despite the falling numbers, the lake is still more than 40 feet higher than this time last year. Current U.S. Bureau of Reclamation projections estimate that this year, Lake Powell water levels will begin rising in April and peak in June.

In a separate post, the CBRFC explained that even though precipitation is less than it was during the 2023 winter months, conditions are still near or at normal.

"Compared to 2023, the current water year might seem underwhelming," the post said. "Despite overall drier conditions compared to last year, several basins in the CBRFC area are either nearing or at normal SWE levels for this time of year."

Last year at this time, the snowpack was 130 percent of normal, according to Miller.

"It's still early in the season. April and May can be really wet months, but they can also be really dry months, so there's still a state of uncertainty in where we end up," Miller said. "It's nice that we're having a normal year that followed such a wet year last year."