Here’s How Many Good Water Years It Would Take To Fill Lake Powell

Lake Powell is approaching its all-time low and it looks like it will continue drop through the rest of this year. If drought conditions were to end, how long would it take to bring the massive lake back to capacity?

The Role of Drought and Monsoon Rains in Water Levels

There have been monsoon rains that help a little bit, but this is not where the Colorado River and the other rivers that feed into Lake Powell get the majority of the water. It comes from snow melt in the Upper Colorado River Basin.

This is an area that covers part of Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming and the majority of the water comes from snow melt in the spring. In a good year this basin produces 15 million acre-feet of water.

Snow melt is crucial for Lake Powell. Getty Images

Capacity Challenges: How Much Water Does Lake Powell Need?

Lake Powell can hold 26 million acre feet at its capacity, but it is under 6 million currently. That means it would need 5 or 6 good years in a row to bring it back up to capacity. That would provide 90 million acre-feet to the Colorado River.

The reason it would take that long is that not all the water that comes down the Colorado stays in Lake Powell. The states above the Lake take 4 million acre-feet before it even gets to Southern Utah.

Read More: Two Predicters of Weather Show Utah With a Warm Wet Fall

It also flows into Lake Mead which is also near historic lows. 8 million acre-feet would be sent on towards Nevada. As you can see, the area above Lake Powell needs a string of good water years to turn things around.