Current Water Level
Last updated: May 25, 2026Elevation
3527.87 ft
Daily Change
+1in
Weekly Change
+7in
Content
5.71M af
Inflow
10,848 cfs
Outflow
7,134 cfs
Last 7 daysExpand
Mon, May 25+1in3527.87ft
Sun, May 2403527.76ft
Sat, May 23+1in3527.74ft
Fri, May 22+1in3527.67ft
Thu, May 21+1in3527.60ft
Wed, May 2003527.50ft
Tue, May 19+2in3527.46ft
The bigger picture
What would each long-term federal plan actually do?
Start hereThe real problem isn't drought — it's math
Why Powell keeps dropping even in normal years, and what has to change.
6 min readRead
The verdictThe five federal plans, head to head
Same drought, same inflows — which policy actually keeps Powell alive?
8 min readRead
Top pick · RecoverySupply Driven — best recovery potential
Releases tied to how much water the river is actually producing. Wet years pay off and the lake climbs.
5 min readRead
Top pick · Power & StorageMax Operational Flexibility — strongest drawdown protection
Storage + flow-aware releases, with a run-of-river safeguard when Powell runs low.
5 min readRead
Elevation Trend
What the April 2026 federal plan will do to Lake Powell
In April 2026, the Bureau of Reclamation cut how much water Powell sends downstream and started moving water in from Flaming Gorge. The chart below shows where the lake lands with the plan compared to without it, from today through April 2027.
Through September 30, 2026, releases are cut from 7.48 MAF a year down to 6.0 MAF. Up to 1 MAF of water gets moved from Flaming Gorge into Powell between now and April 2027. The plan commits to keeping Powell at or above 3,500 ft — the “safety line” 10 ft above the point where the dam can’t make power anymore.
How much water flows in and out each day — including this year’s snowmelt (give or take 20%) and evaporation.
With the plan, Powell drops to 3513 ft by April 2027. Without it, the lake would drop to 3412 ft — that’s 116 ft down. The plan saves 101 ft. That’s 13 ft above the plan’s 3500 ft safety line.
See the math
Over the next 12 months
- In: ≈4.0 MAF (0.28 MAF snowmelt + 1 MAF from Flaming Gorge + base flow)
- Out: ≈4.0 MAF released to the Lower Basin — 1.6× what the plan adds
- Evaporation: ≈0.43 MAF off the surface
Net: -0.41 MAF. At 3528 ft, each foot of canyon holds about 61K acre-feet → that means a -15-ft drop to 3513 ft by April 2027.
The plan saves 101 ft. Without it, Powell drops to 3412 ft (-116 ft). Not a rise — a rescue.
This is just the patch through April 2027. Run the long-term simulator → to see which plan actually holds Powell up past 2026.
With the plan — smaller releases + Flaming Gorge water
Without the plan — normal releases, no Flaming Gorge transfer
2022 actuals — last Flaming Gorge emergency release (~500 KAF)
The gap between the two lines is what the plan buys.
Sep 30, 2026 (with plan)
3515 ft(-13 ft)
vs. 3464 ft without plan
April 2027 (with plan)
3513 ft(-15 ft)
vs. 3412 ft without plan
What the plan saves
+101 ftby April 2027
Stops a 116-ft drop
Start of each month (with plan)
| Month | Elevation | Change from today (3528 ft) |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 2026 | 3520 ft | -7 ft |
| Jul 2026 | 3519 ft | -9 ft |
| Aug 2026 | 3517 ft | -11 ft |
| Sep 2026 | 3515 ft | -13 ft |
| Oct 2026 | 3510 ft | -18 ft |
| Nov 2026 | 3510 ft | -18 ft |
| Dec 2026 | 3510 ft | -18 ft |
| Jan 2027 | 3510 ft | -18 ft |
| Feb 2027 | 3510 ft | -18 ft |
| Mar 2027 | 3510 ft | -18 ft |
| Apr 2027 | 3513 ft | -15 ft |
Context — the 2022 release: Powell went from 3530 ft to 3525 ft over the last Flaming Gorge emergency release window — a net -5 ft.
The 2022 release (~500 KAF under the DROA) ran May 2022 → April 2023. Emergency releases from Flaming Gorge slow Powell's decline; they don't reverse it on their own. The 2022 window had different snowpack and smaller cuts, so this is a historical reference — not a forecast.
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Compare the plans
Which plan actually holds the lake up?
Head-to-head — every plan on the same chart
Side-by-side grades across recovery, floor, bad-case ending, and speed. The full verdict.
8 min readRead
Enhanced Coordination — balancing Powell and Mead
A middle-ground plan that coordinates the two biggest reservoirs on the river.
5 min readRead
The Abundance Act — what if we added new water?
Desalination at scale. How much it would cost, and how much it would actually help.
7 min readRead
Basic Coordination — elevation-based cuts
Better than No Action, but still not enough to recover from a deep drawdown.
4 min readRead
No Action — the post-2026 default if nothing changes
Full 8.23 MAF out the door every year, drought or not. Why it fails fast.
4 min readRead
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