Officials in the Upper Colorado River Basin plan to continue draining Flaming Gorge in Wyoming to protect Lake Powell, one of the basin’s largest reservoirs. The Colorado River Basin, which extends from Colorado to California and northern Mexico, uses a network of reservoirs to store vital water supplies for cities, farms, recreation, the environment and millions of people. But the basin’s overall storage has dropped to a third of its capacity, officials said during an Upper Colorado River Basin meeting Monday. Lake Powell holds about 22% of its total capacity. Since April, the Bureau of Reclamation has released about 450,000 acre-feet of water to help boost storage in Lake Powell. Colorado and other Upper Basin state officials agreed Monday that those releases should continue through April. 

Other Colorado River management news:

• Cowboy State Daily (Cheyenne, Wyo.): Wyoming, Upper Basin states: Water taken from Flaming Gorge should be replaced
• The Salt Lake Tribune: ‘We’re out of water’: Utah communities live with steep water cuts amid brutal Colorado River drought
• FOX13 (Salt Lake City): Colorado River states face tough choices as water supplies shrink
• Colorado Public Radio: Five things to know about the future of Denver’s water
• Cronkite News: Questions of integrity rise as water levels fall