… To many, the functionality of Glen Canyon Dam’s river outlet works has been a slow-moving crisis. If levels at Lake Powell fall too low, water deliveries to Lake Mead could be cut off due to potential damage of those release tubes, spelling trouble for Southern Nevada and its neighbor states in the Lower Colorado River Basin. … In a Friday statement, the Southern Nevada Water Authority said the uncertainty of Glen Canyon Dam’s infrastructure is another reason for every state to take swift action to cut water use in order to protect reservoir storage. “While Reclamation has acknowledged the engineering feasibility exists to operate at these levels, the bypass tubes were not envisioned to be the sole release mechanism,” the statement said. “Gambling on how much we can safely release while the reservoir is near empty seems less than prudent.”

Other Colorado River management news:

• The Denver Post (Colo.): Colorado River system continues slide toward crash, despite emergency actions sending water to Lake Powell
• NPR: The National Park Service continues to have to move docks as Lake Powell shrinks