Due to recent rain storms and in anticipation of additional storms in southern California and Arizona, the Bureau of Reclamation is reducing water releases from Davis and Parker dams on the lower Colorado River. The reduced releases at both dams is expected to continue possibly through Wednesday, Aug. 23.
At Parker Dam, north of Parker, Arizona, hourly releases have been reduced to approximately 1,800 cubic feet per second (cfs).
Hourly releases at Davis Dam, north of Laughlin, Nevada, will be reduced to approximately 2,300 cfs beginning tonight at 11 p.m. MST and may fluctuate between 2,300 cfs and 3,900 cfs through the weekend and into next week. The reduction in releases from Davis Dam is necessary to lower water levels to maintain a safe water surface elevation at Lake Havasu.
Due to the existing drought conditions in the Colorado River Basin, Reclamation is attempting to conserve as much water as possible in the river’s storage system. The temporary reduction in releases at Davis Dam will help reduce the risk of excess water releases out of Parker Dam, which would result in the loss of valuable system storage.
Daily and hourly information on releases from Reclamation’s Colorado River dams is available on Reclamation’s web site, at https://www.usbr.gov/lc/riverops.html. Davis Dam and Parker Dam projected water release schedules can be found at https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/hourly/DavisParkerSchedules.pdf.
