The Bureau of Reclamation has released updated water operations data for Glen Canyon Dam, showing that Lake Powell's end of April elevation reached 3,526.99 feet. This level is 173 feet below full pool, with storage recorded at 5.62 million acre-feet, or 24 percent of live capacity.
During the month of April, the unregulated inflow volume to Lake Powell was 372 thousand acre-feet, a figure representing 41 percent of the average. The release volume from Glen Canyon Dam for the same period was 471 thousand acre-feet.
Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, the anticipated monthly release volume for May is 460,000 acre-feet. The Bureau of Reclamation noted that the June volume and hourly pattern will be confirmed with a subsequent directive toward the end of May.
For water year 2026, the most probable forecast from the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center projects an unregulated inflow volume of 3.27 million acre-feet, which is 34 percent of the average. Under the Mid-Elevation Release Tier, the annual release volume from Lake Powell for water year 2026 is set at 6.0 million acre-feet.
Based on these current forecasts, the May 24-Month Study projects that Lake Powell's elevation will end water year 2026 near 3,510.85 feet, with approximately 4.77 million acre-feet in storage, representing 20 percent of capacity.
The operation of Lake Powell and Lake Mead for the May 2026 24-Month Study follows several regulatory frameworks, including the December 2007 Record of Decision and the 2024 Interim Guidelines SEIS ROD.
Recent historical data shows significant hydrologic variability in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The period from 2000 to 2022 was noted as the lowest 23-year period since the Glen Canyon Dam closed in 1963, with an average unregulated inflow of 8.29 million acre-feet, or 93 percent of the 30-year average.
