How Utah May Play A Major Role In Lake Powell’s Overall Water Capacity In 2024

With temperatures rising for Spring, the Colorado River Basin states are once again looking at Lake Powell. 

Over the last seven years, Utah and other states who draw water for the lake are monitoring what can be withdrawn, KSL reports. With a decent winter, the reservoir is expected to jump up a bit in the coming months from 32% to 37%. However, this is nowhere near the best numbers and is a result of the drought.  

The lake should receive around 5.4-million-acre feet of water, the NWS Colorado River Basin Forecast Center said.  

The good news is that this is an improvement from last year. Not a large one but an improvement, nonetheless.  The NWSCRBFC went on X to clarify that on March 15, 2023, Lake Powell was at 21% capacity whereas it is at 31% capacity this year.  

Inflow from other lakes was about double last year resulting in 38% capacity. However, due to some drier conditions of other water sources that flow into the Colorado River, the forecast center is expecting about an 85% inflow.  

Basically, the projected peak of Lake Powell capacity for 2024 is 37%.  

Utah’s wetter March could impact these numbers favorably, KSL reported. Since the Great Basin saw more water in late Winter this year, snowpacks aren’t done being collected for our region.  

These numbers may fluctuate since there are several variables that impact the water projection of Lake Powell. It's also possible that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will send out an updated projection once all the snowpack has been collected.