Lake Powell

Six out of the seven western states that depend on the Colorado River have submitted a plan to cut usage. Federal officials had set a Tuesday deadline amid historically low levels in reservoirs.

Weather officials say hefty snowfalls that fed the Colorado River in recent weeks may slow the water level decline of Lake Mead on the Nevada-Arizona border.

Crews at Glen Canyon Dam have completed a new water intake connection to accommodate record-low levels at Lake Powell.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says it’ll start holding back hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water in Lake Powell this month to combat prolonged drought that’s caused some of the lowest levels ever seen in the reservoir.

Officials at Lake Powell have closed a popular boat ramp to houseboats as water levels have fallen too low to operate it.

The Grand Canyon won’t see a beach-building flood this fall for the fourth year in a row. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny reports, river managers point to unprecedented low levels in Lake Powell.

The National Park Service began electrofishing in the Colorado River this week to kill smallmouth bass between Glen Canyon Dam and Lees Ferry. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny reports, it follows an unsuccessful attempt to control the exotic fish by poisoning a nearby slough.

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly is urging the U.S. Department of the Interior to force an agreement between western states to forestall a major water crisis on the Colorado River.

The Grand Canyon is a haven for native fish. But that’s now threatened by smallmouth bass, an exotic fish that eats native species and has recently escaped through Glen Canyon Dam. Scientists say a shock of cold water released through the dam might help keep their numbers down. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny spoke with fish biologist Drew Eppehimer about the tradeoffs involved.

The drought in the Southwest has bottomed out major reservoirs on the Colorado River and raised alarms among cities and farms that rely on the water. But it’s also a threat to the environment in one of the world’s most recognizable wonders: the Grand Canyon. As KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny reports, a longstanding program of artificial floods to save the canyon’s beaches now faces an uncertain future.