Troubled Waters: Flaming Gorge Businesses Suffer from Water Releases

FLAMING GORGE, Utah — As water levels at Lake Powell continue to fall to critically low levels, the Bureau of Reclamation is once again turning to Flaming Gorge Reservoir to help stabilize the Colorado River system. This decision has left businesses near the popular recreation destination worried about what comes next.

The Bureau of Reclamation is releasing between 660,000 and 1 million acre-feet of water from Flaming Gorge over the next year in an effort to try and get water levels up at Glen Canyon Dam. This action is meant to continue generating hydropower for millions of people in the area. However, some business owners around Flaming Gorge say the rapid drop in water levels is already taking a toll.

Flaming Gorge is already several feet below normal for this time of year, and businesses say continued releases could push the reservoir to levels they’ve never experienced. In 2022, emergency water releases from Flaming Gorge also impacted businesses surrounding the reservoir, and some owners say they never fully recovered.

“We’re in trouble,” said Tony Valdez, who owns Buckboard Marina in Wyoming. Within the marina, Valdez has a tackle shop, a restaurant, a repair shop, and more. Valdez said these low water levels are creating expensive repairs and major adjustments to the marina. He said the releases have already dropped water levels six to seven feet near the marina.

“We’re looking at restructuring the whole marina, and that wasn’t in the budget this year,” Valdez said. He added the water dropped so quickly that docks and piers were damaged almost immediately. “Within the first two days, our piers started crinkling because the water dropped so fast, and it broke welds and broke piers,” Valdez said.

Valdez said marina owners were caught off guard by the release schedule, worried the economic impacts could have bigger implications. “Gonna crash the economies around here,” he said.

Across the reservoir at Cedar Springs Marina, owner John Rauch said his family has never seen water levels fall this dramatically. “My family has been here forty years and has not seen a drop like this until now,” Rauch said. Rauch said he has spent days moving docks and repositioning equipment as the shoreline rapidly changes.

“My back has been hurting these past 10 days. We’ve lost 6 feet,” Rauch said. “Every day it’s trying to stay ahead of it, moving things offshore and moving the marina.” His biggest concern is next season. “This winter is going to be a big drop that we haven’t seen before,” Rauch said. “We’re going ten feet lower than we’ve ever been. It’s gonna be a major deal next season.”

If drought conditions continue through next winter, federal officials could decide to release another large portion of water from Flaming Gorge once again. Lake Powell’s water levels remain dangerously low. Glen Canyon Dam, which forms the reservoir, provides electricity to millions of people across the West.

Federal officials said the water releases from Flaming Gorge are intended to help prop up Lake Powell and prevent hydropower generators at Glen Canyon Dam from shutting down due to low water levels. “There’s a power issue with the dams, not being able to generate enough power and there’s not enough water for the amount of people to make it work so we need to have someone with more money,” Rauch said.

In Manila, near the Flaming Gorge area, tourism is the backbone of many communities surrounding Flaming Gorge, and local residents said low water levels this next winter could threaten businesses that depend on summer visitors. “It’s scary,” said Manila resident Ashlee Muir. “I know everyone needs the water, but here in our small community, we rely on it for our livelihoods.”

Colton Christenson, who works near Flaming Gorge, said people are already worried about what another dry winter could mean. “Tourism is the main part of Daggett County,” Christenson said. “There are major concerns about what next year could bring if we don’t get a good winter.”

Despite the concerns, business owners are encouraging people to still visit the lake this summer while conditions remain manageable. “I would suggest getting out and using it this year, next year might be a different scenario,” Rauch said. “We still need people to come visit us,” Valdez added.