Higher water levels expected at Lake Powell

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A state official says spring runoff into Lake Powell should be about 120 percent of average, raising the lake's level 50 feet this summer.

But because a November agreement between Colorado River states for managing water shortages also manages water surpluses, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says about 700,000 acre-feet more than usual will be released downstream from Lake Powell into Lake Mead.

Dennis Strong, director of the Utah Division of Water Resources, says precipitation and snowpack from the Oct. 1 start of the water year is mostly at or above average across the state. As of April 1, statewide basin reservoir storage was 60 percent of average and expected to reach 80 percent of normal with the runoff - even though Bear Lake will be about one-third full.

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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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