- Reclamation
- Colorado River Basin
- Drought Contingency Plans
- Drought Response Operations Agreement
Drought Response Operations Agreement
Prolonged drought, low runoff conditions and critically low reservoir levels are threatening the of the Colorado River system.
Both Lake Powell and Lake Mead – the two largest reservoirs in the United States and the largest storage units in the Colorado River system – are at their lowest levels since initial filling and ended the 2022 water year (Sept. 30, 2022) with a combined storage of roughly 25% of total capacity, down from 39% at the same time in 2021.
The Upper Division States and the Bureau of Reclamation, signatories to the 2019 Drought Response Operations Agreement, together with the Upper Colorado River Commission developed the Drought Response Operations Plan in accordance with the scope and purposes described in the DROA.
DROA is part of the 2019 Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan for the Upper Colorado River Basin. DROA aims to minimize the risk of Lake Powell declining below critical elevations.
2023 Drought Response Operations Plan
Under the Drought Response Operations Agreement, The Bureau of Reclamation and the Upper Basin States have developed a 2023 Drought Response Operations Plan.
The 2023 Plan consists of two components:
- Plan Framework – a static portion with guidance that is used to develop yearly drought response operations plans.
- Plan Attachments – an application of the Plan's framework that describes actual drought response operations for a specific plan year.
Click here to view the 2023 Drought Response Operations Plan (Framework and Attachments)
Click here to view the 2023 Department of the Interior Approval Memo
Recovery Letters
Click here to view the Completion of the 2023 Drought Response Operations Agreement Plan - Reclamation Letter
Click here to view the Completion of the 2023 Drought Response Operations Agreement Plan - UCRC Letter
2022 Drought Response Operations Plan
2022 Plan Suspended
Attachment C of the 2022 Drought Response Operations Plan – Operations at Flaming Gorge was amended to reflect the decision to suspend Drought Response Operations releases beginning March 7, 2023, for the remainder of the 2022 DROA Plan year (through April 30, 2023). Representatives of the Upper Division States of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, acting through the Upper Colorado River Commission, submitted this Amendment for consideration on February 27, 2023.
Operational Adjustments at Glen Canyon Dam
On Dec. 1, 2022, Reclamation and the DROA parties amended Attachment B - Operational Adjustments at Glen Canyon Dam to reflect the decision to modify monthly releases from Glen Canyon Dam from December 2022 – April 2023. The Upper Division States, acting through the Upper Colorado River Commission (UCRC), have agreed with the proposed amendment.
The 2022 Plan consists of two components:
- Framework – a document which contains information and principals that will be considered when developing yearly Drought Response Operations Plans.
- Attachments – documents that describe actual Drought Response Operations for a specific plan year. Attachments will be completed each spring that Drought Response Operations are necessary, based upon the hydrologic information existing at the time. Attachments will be updated throughout the year as needed based on hydrologic information.
Click here to view the 2022 Drought Response Operations Plan (Framework and Attachments)
Click here to view the 2022 Department of the Interior Approval Memo
Background
Signed in 2019, the Upper Basin and Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plans outline strategies to address the ongoing historic drought in the Colorado River Basin.
The DROA is one element of the Upper Basin Drought Contingency Plan. It establishes a coordinated and collaborative process among the Department of the Interior and Upper Division States for developing a Drought Response Operations Plan to protect critical elevations at Lake Powell. This process includes participation from Upper Basin Tribes and federal agencies, and includes consultation with the Lower Division States as well as input from other Colorado River Basin Tribes, water users, stakeholders and members of the public.
Any operation under DROA must work within existing legal and regulatory frameworks and be consistent with the authorities that govern each facility's operation. Any water released from any upstream Initial Unit will be later recovered in that Initial Unit pursuant to the DROA and the applicable Plan.
DROA defines elevation 3,525 feet as the "target elevation" at Lake Powell for minimizing the risk of the reservoir declining below 3490 feet. The target elevation provides a 35-foot buffer above minimum power pool (elevation 3,490 feet) to allow for response actions before Lake Powell drops below 3,490 feet.
Previous Related Actions
Beginning in summer 2021, pursuant to the DROA, Reclamation determined there was an imminent need to release 161,000 acre-feet of water from the upstream Initial Units of Flaming Gorge and Aspinall Unit (Blue Mesa) to protect the target elevation at Lake Powell. In January of 2022, Reclamation also modified Glen Canyon Dam releases to readjust the release of 350,000 acre-feet of water from Glen Canyon Dam in an effort to protect critical elevations at Lake Powell.
