Lake Powell

Colorado River activists are calling on the federal government to rework the plumbing on one of its biggest dams. And President Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday that he says will make it easier for people to travel to other states for abortions.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is locking in plans to add more water to Lake Powell. And the US Senate unanimously approved an extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

Lake Powell is in crisis. So reports KUNC’s Alex Hager, who covers the Colorado River. Just last month, water in the nation's second largest reservoir dipped below the target elevation. Now, the federal government is moving forward with emergency cutbacks for several states.

A new plan will release water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir, a measure designed to boost dropping levels in Lake Powell. The releases come as a response to record lows, which are on course to drop too low to generate hydropower at the Glen Canyon dam. The Drought Response Operations Plan brings together the four states of the upper Colorado River basin – Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico – and the federal government.

The U.S. Department of the Interior is considering emergency cutbacks to water supplies for Arizona, California, and Nevada. And the Colorado Health Foundation has awarded a grant to the Ute Mountain Ute tribe to provide high-speed internet to tribal members.

Colorado’s top water agency is pausing investigations into “demand management,” a program that would pay people to use less water and send it to Lake Powell for storage. And the Colorado Senate has approved a bill that would force hospitals to allow visitors during future public health emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic.

A report released Monday says Lake Powell has lost four percent of its storage capacity since 1986. And federal funding for a central sewer system in Rico was approved by Congress, although there are concerns the town won’t meet the deadline to use them.

Coloradans who want to replace their water-hungry lawns to save money and fight drought conditions are on the verge of getting more help from the state. And as spring approaches, Utah wildlife officials are asking boaters to plan ahead before visiting Lake Powell.

The nation’s second largest reservoir, Lake Powell, is now at its lowest point since it first filled in the 1960s. From KUNC, Luke Runyon reports.The…

The federal government is releasing water from reservoirs in Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico in an emergency attempt to prop up the nation’s second…