Lower Colorado River water users anticipate dry 2024
Following one of the wettest winters in recent history, Arizona officials anticipate a dry 2024 as federal water usage cuts loom. In a joint Colorado River shortage briefing held by the Arizona Department of Water Resources and the Central Arizona Project, officials analyzed current conditions in Colorado River Basin reservoirs and how they’ll change in the near future. Thanks to a record-breaking snowpack that peaked at 174% above median levels in mid-April, the Arizona Department of Water Resources expects this year to be the second highest reservoir inflow since the beginning of the drought. Lakes Powell and Mead, the two largest reservoirs along the Colorado River that serve the lower basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada, are 24% and 29% full, at elevations of 3,525 feet and 1,049 feet, respectively.
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