Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum signed the 2027–2028 Operating Guidelines and Record of Decision for Colorado River operations on Friday, August 21, with the combined contents of Lake Powell and Lake Mead lower than at any point since before Powell began filling in 1963.
The guidelines cut Lower Basin water deliveries by 1.25 million acre-feet in each of the next two years and manage Powell to a minimum elevation of 3,510 feet to keep Glen Canyon Dam operating reliably. Under the 24-Month Study released the same day, Powell begins the October 1 water year in the Lower Elevation Infrastructure Protection Range, with expected releases of 6.0 to 7.0 million acre-feet and a final 2027 volume to be set in April.
Two weeks before the signing, Reclamation told stakeholder groups in an email obtained by the Associated Press that it would not run cool-mix flows from Glen Canyon Dam this year “due to significant hydropower generation concerns under already strained system conditions,” skipping the measure that prevented smallmouth bass from spawning below the dam in 2024 and 2025. With Lake Powell about 23 percent full, warm surface water is passing through the dam’s generators, and the river downstream is running about 69 degrees, well above the roughly 60-degree threshold that normally prompts Reclamation to consider cold-water releases. Matt Rice, southwest region director for American Rivers, told the AP the decision was not unexpected but still disappointing, saying “hopefully it’s not a death sentence to humpback chub” and adding that the elevated temperatures also threaten the nearby rainbow trout fishery at Lees Ferry.
[DEVELOPING — see prior MidCurrent coverage: Montana Closes Section of the Madison, Expands Hoot-Owl to Six More Rivers]
