Lake Powell Threatens Power Blackout Across Western U.S. by August

Lake Powell, the nation's second-largest reservoir, sits just 37 feet above the minimum elevation where Glen Canyon Dam's turbines fail. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation warns it could breach that threshold as soon as August 2026. A record-low snowpack in the Rockies and a March heatwave have left the reservoir at 23% capacity. Losing Glen Canyon's power generation would affect nearly 6 million households and businesses across the West.