Water release from Flaming Gorge suspended amid above-normal snowpack in the West
3/7/2023 12:00:00 AM
CATEGORIES:
Relief, Response & Restrictions
Water Supply & Quality
AFFECTED AREAS:
Coconino County, AZ
Colorado
New Mexico
Utah
Daggett County, UT
Kane County, UT
San Juan County, UT
Wyoming
Sweetwater County, WY
Start Date: 1/1/2023
- End Date: 4/30/2023
Water releases from Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Utah were being suspended as requested by four upper Colorado River Basin states. The water was to boost the level of Lake Powell, which in late February fell to its lowest level since the reservoir filled in the 1960s. Above-normal snowpack and precipitation in the West were also expected to help refill Lake Powell. The water releases from Flaming Gorge were originally meant to continue through April.
CNN (Atlanta, Ga.), March 7, 2023
Four Upper Colorado River Basin states are asking the Bureau of Reclamation to suspend water releases from Flaming Gorge Reservoir to allow heavy snowpack to raise the level of the reservoir rather than continuing to send water downstream to Lake Powell. The states would like the water releases to end on March 1 rather than continue through April as planned. The Upper Basin states also want the Lower Basin states to understand that water cannot be released downstream at will.
As of Feb. 28, winter precipitation was above average in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.
KUNC-FM 91.5 (Greeley, Colo.), Feb 27, 2023
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