Lake Powell has shrunk to 25% of capacity in 40 years
Lake Powell is fed by snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains and stores water for the Upper Basin states of the Colorado River Compact (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico). Under the Compact, Upper Basin states must provide a minimum annual flow of 7,500,000 acre-feet to the Lower Basin states (Arizona, Nevada, and California).
Graph showing Lake Powell's average yearly volume, 1963-2023. The volume peaked in 1983 at 23,348,654 acre-feet. In 2023 it measures 5,498,680 acre-feet.
