Colorado River flow well below normal for the seventh time in eight years, report indicates

PHOENIX— Water flow in the Colorado River will be below average for the seventh time in eight years for the current water year, according to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

The river is expected to produce just 68 percent of its normal flow from Oct. 1, 2006, through the end of September, said Tom Ryan, the bureau's chief hydrologist in Salt Lake City.

The river has exceeded its historic average just once since 1999, when 105 percent of the normal flow was measured in 2005.

Runoff into Lake Powell along the Arizona-Utah border, where the river's flow is measured, is expected to be just half of normal from April through July. Those months typically have the highest flows because of mountain snowmelt.

April precipitation in the upper Colorado watershed was near normal, Ryan said, but it was too late to help the river after a dry winter. Warmer temperatures in the past few weeks raised river runoff and Ryan said the river should soon reach its seasonal peak.

Lake Powell, now at 99.4 feet below capacity, is expected to rise another 6 feet before peaking for the summer.

Seven states and Mexico rely in part on water in the Colorado. Four states are in the upper basin — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico—and three draw water below Lake Powell — Arizona, California and Nevada.