Science Fair Project on the Effects of Water Usage on Lake Powell Water Level

By Bryce Theesfeld

The purpose of my project was to see how long it would take to drain Lake Powell. I used minimum required outflows at Glen Canyon Dam, and average river inflows for the worst recorded drought year, which was 2002. I set up an experiment to simulate and test these variables. 

When I was finished with my project, I discovered that it would take much longer then I had originally hypothesized. I guessed it would take only 15 days, but it turned out that it would take 5 years and 9 months to drain the lake from 100% full pool level to completely empty.  

I learned a lot about Lake Powell in general, and especially about how much water is actually in the lake.  When it is full, Lake Powell holds about 7.9 Trillion Gallons. I was amazed! This was such a good experience for me because I learned a lot about very large volumes and flows of water through a lake which a lot of people use for enjoyment, energy, and their water supply.