The Southwest Situation

Arizona is characterized by its arid deserts, red rock, jagged mountains, and natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. But for the past two decades, Arizona and the rest of the southwest have also been characterized by unrelenting dryness.

Roseanne Chambers

The impacts of the severe drought have been widespread, but none more noticeable than its effects on the Colorado River, where water levels have been drastically reduced. The river is part of the Colorado Plateau region and is in a rain shadow- a region of reduced rainfall caused by the protection of mountains towards the East and West. Through itself and its tributaries, it provides water to nearly 40 million people, irrigates 5.5 million agricultural acres of land, and is the lifeblood for at least 22 federally recognized tribes, 7 national wildlife refuges, and 11 national parks. All in all, the river serves 1 in 10 Americans. However, zooming in on one city, the repercussions of the region's driest 22-year stretch become clear.

Page, Arizona is home to around 7,500 residents and Lake Powell, an artificial reservoir along the Colorado River created by the Glen Canyon Dam. Since being constructed in 1964, the lake has faced prolonged drought and several water withdrawals that many deemed unsustainable. In addition, it has faced losses in total capacity due to the sediments flowing in from the Colorado and San Juan rivers, resulting in an average annual loss in storage capacity of about 11 billion gallons per year between 1963 and 2018. The total water and capacity loss can be seen in NASA’s Landsat series of satellite photographs that document the water levels in Lake Powell.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The lake is now at 23% of its full level, and if the water level were to fall another 38 feet below current levels, Lake Powell would essentially become a funnel, with water circling the eight underwater openings of the dam. To prevent this “doomsday scenario”, the Biden Administration called on seven states of the Colorado Basin to cut water consumption by 2 to 4 million acre-feet, but discussions have failed to bear fruit. Meanwhile, Glen Canyon Dam’s ability to produce electricity has declined by 40% as less pressure from the lake pushes the turbines. Affected customers are now responsible for buying power on the open market. During Summer 2022, these prices reached as high as $1,000 per megawatt hour, much more exorbitant than the $30 per megawatt hour that Glen Canyon provides.

To avoid a possible calamity, officials have proposed several solutions, including expanding river outlets or adding bypass pipes, which would increase how much water can be released at low water elevations. However, these proposals don’t fix the root problem- water levels will most likely get worse with global warming intensifying. Climate science has been clear, to fundamentally correct this problem, emissions need to be cut.