Lake levels rising??

Earlier this year I posted a couple of different sides of the water issues as they pertain to the Colorado River reservoirs.

First there was this post that included a report by experts that claimed that Lake Mead had half a chance to be all dried up within 20 years.

Then came this post about the very good winter the Rocky Mountains were having and the hopeful expectations that the run off from all the snow would raise Lake Powell perhaps 50 feet or so.

Now comes this report from a couple of days ago about the results of the runoff.

Runoff this year neared 110 percent of the long-term average, enough to push Powell's water levels to their highest since August 2002.

It is now 63 percent full, still 67 feet below the full mark.

Under the new operating guidelines, when Lake Powell reaches target levels, the bureau will release water into Lake Mead until it reaches its own target. The process is called equalization, and it is meant to share the benefits of the river's flow.

Bureau officials expect Lake Mead to reach its target level this fall.

Now I don't know what the 'target' level is for Lake Mead... and I doubt that it means we'll see the lake fill back up to the water line again in the photo below...



... but I'll take the good news for the lakes. New fishing spots hopefully.

(Hat tip to Mr. Chambers for sharing this article on the Topix board)