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Lake Powell forecast to receive 13% of its usual flows, new report shows

Coloradosun · · 626 words · By Shannon Mullane
Infrastructure Risk Environmental Policy Water scarcity
open_in_new Read the original article: https://coloradosun.com/2026/05/09/lake-powell-forecast-water-flows-record-low/

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Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

17 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 7
verified Verified By Reference 4
check_circle Corroborated 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified 1
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“Lake Powell... is set to receive 13% of its normal spring runoff, the lowest amount from upstream snowmelt on record, according to a federal forecast Thursday.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that Lake Powell was projected to receive 13% of its average supply, described as a record low for summer inflow.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Emerson, Lake & Powell is the only studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Powell, released on 2 June 1986 by Polydor Records. The album's debut single was "Touch and Go" which p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerson,_Lake_&_Powell_(album)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona, United States. It is a major vacation destination visited by approximately two million people every year. It holds 24,322,000 acre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Powell
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Emerson, Lake & Powell, sometimes abbreviated as ELP, were an English progressive rock band, considered by many as a variant lineup of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, that released one official studio album i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerson,_Lake_&_Powell
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“The reservoir, located on the Utah-Arizona border”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and multiple web sources explicitly state Lake Powell is located on the border of Utah and Arizona.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the southwestern United States, located on the Colorado River in northern Arizona, near the city of Page. The 710-foot-high (220 m) dam was built by t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Canyon_Dam
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Historic Hite is a flooded ghost town at the north end of Lake Powell along the Colorado River in western San Juan County, Utah, United States. Lake Powell, and all of its points of interest, are in t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hite,_Utah
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona, United States. It is a major vacation destination visited by approximately two million people every year. It holds 24,322,000 acre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Powell
+ 4 more evidence sources
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“As of Thursday, it held 23% of its capacity.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While evidence discusses Lake Powell's general decline and critical levels, no specific source in the provided evidence confirms the exact figure of 23% capacity for the specific Thursday mentioned.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards) of the Nice, Greg Lake (vocals, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerson,_Lake_&_Palmer
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In November 2025, federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., opened a criminal investigation into Jerome H. Powell, the Chair of the Federal Reserve, concerning the renovation of the Federal Reserve’s h…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_investigation_into_Jer…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ryan Powell (born February 23, 1978) is a four-time All-American lacrosse player at Syracuse University and was on the US national team roster in 2006 and 2010.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Powell_(lacrosse)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“the federal Colorado Basin River Forecast Center tracks conditions in the basin and prepares forecasts used by the federal government to determine how the water for 40 million people in the West should be managed.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm that the Colorado River provides water for about 40 million people and that federal hydrologists/centers provide the forecasts used for management.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Colorado River (Spanish: Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The 1,450-mile-long (2,330 km) river, th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the southwestern United States, located on the Colorado River in northern Arizona, near the city of Page. The 710-foot-high (220 m) dam was built by t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Canyon_Dam
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Green River is a 730 mi (1,170 km) long river located in the western U.S. states of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. The chief tributary of the Colorado River, its watershed, the Green River Basin, be…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_River_(Colorado_River_tr…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Since Oct. 1, about 408,000 acre-feet of water has reached the reservoir.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
No evidence provided specifies the exact amount of 408,000 acre-feet reaching the reservoir since October 1.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona, United States. It is a major vacation destination visited by approximately two million people every year. It holds 24,322,000 acre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Powell
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Cozy Powell (born Colin Trevor Flooks; 29 December 1947 – 5 April 1998) was an English drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenke…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cozy_Powell
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On December 6, 2009, Susan Marie Powell, a 28‑year‑old mother of two from West Valley City, Utah, disappeared from her home under suspicious circumstances. Her husband, Joshua Powell, was identified b…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Susan_Powell
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“The expected flow of water into the reservoir this year is about 800,000 acre-feet.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web sources explicitly state that 800,000 acre-feet of water is projected to flow into Lake Powell through July.
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web search NEUTRAL — The total amount of water expected to reach Powell is 800,000 acre-feet from April through July.This year's expected total runoff is also 42% lower than the forecast for April-July flows into Powell t…
https://tucson.com/news/local/environment/article_f2420e0f-2…
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web search NEUTRAL — All of that adds to a reduction of what’s expected from this year’s snowpack. The new Colorado Basin River Forecast Center outlook for Lake Powell is approximately 600,000 acre-feet less than what it …
https://www.deseret.com/environment/2026/05/08/lake-powell-p…
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web search NEUTRAL — Moser went on to describe how just 800,000 acre-feet of water is projected to flow into Lake Powell, the upper basin’s largest reservoir, through July. That’s 13% of its average supply. It would also …
https://www.azpm.org/p/headlines/2026/5/8/229680-no-good-new…
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“One acre-foot equals about 326,000 gallons”
VERIFIED
Multiple authoritative water utility and conservation sources confirm that one acre-foot is approximately 326,000 gallons.
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web search NEUTRAL — One acre-foot of water (the amount of water covering 1 acre to a depth of 1 foot) equals 326,000 gallons or 43,560 cubic feet of water, and weighs 2.7 million pounds.
https://www.prwcd.com/water-conversions
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web search NEUTRAL — Colorado Springs Utilities stores water in its Homestake reservoir in the mountains west of Colorado Springs. The reservoir can hold up to 42,900 acre feet of water -- one acre foot is roughly equal t…
https://www.cpr.org/2018/07/24/were-in-drought-so-why-can-we…
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web search NEUTRAL — One acre-foot represents a volume of water that covers an area of one acre to a depth of one foot. This means it holds approximately 325,851 gallons of water, making it a significant unit of measureme…
https://www.waterbee.eu/types/how-much-water-in-an-acre-foot…
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“The massive reservoir was designed to hold about 24 million acre-feet.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia explicitly states that Lake Powell holds 24,322,000 acre-feet when full, which aligns with the 'about 24 million' claim.
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web search NEUTRAL — The new Colorado Basin River Forecast Center outlook for Lake Powell is approximately 600,000 acre-feet less than what it projected last month . The outlook doesn’t account for the water the reservoir…
https://www.deseret.com/environment/2026/05/08/lake-powell-p…
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web search NEUTRAL — 24, 1922, when the compact was signed. Such pre-compact water rights are exempt from its terms. How far down the list would the state have to curtail to put 100,000 acre-feet in Lake Powell? And which…
https://aspenjournalism.org/checking-the-water-jug-that-is-l…
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web search NEUTRAL — With inflows to Lake Powell forecast at just 29% of the historical average and total system storage at roughly 36% of capacity, the three Lower Basin states have advanced a joint proposal as the broad…
https://smartwatermagazine.com/news/smart-water-magazine/low…
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“Its storage as of Thursday is a mere fraction of that total, 5.6 million acre-feet, according to data from the federal Bureau of Reclamation”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm the specific storage figure of 5.6 million acre-feet for that date.
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“Colorado uses about 5.34 million acre-feet of water on average each year, according to the Colorado Water Conservation Board.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific average annual water use of 5.34 million acre-feet for Colorado.
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“The state used an average of 2 million acre-feet of water from the Colorado River Basin between 2021 and 2025, according to data from the bureau.”
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“The lake was just 394 feet deep at the dam as of early May.”
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“The Bureau of Reclamation projections show hydropower generation could stop as soon as September without intervention.”
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“Flaming Gorge on the Wyoming-Utah border”
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“The rules, established in 2007, allowed the reservoir to be drained even in dire drought years”
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“Those rules expire this year”
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“The new set of rules must be in place by Oct. 1.”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.