Officials will flush 50,000 toilets to flood a Utah lake in order to generate electricity

Canyons in eastern Utah will churn this spring with huge volumes of water — as much as 50,000 toilets flushing constantly at the same time — in a desperate attempt to maintain electricity generation for thousands of homes across much of the Western U.S. The Green and Colorado river flows might seem like a bounty of moisture in a parched desert of sandstone arches and prickly cacti, but in fact it’s just the opposite. After the driest winter on record, officials this spring want to raise the level of badly depleted Lake Powell on the Colorado River to keep its hydropower humming. To do so, they plan to eventually let out as much as a third of the water in Flaming Gorge Reservoir upstream on the Green River in Wyoming and Utah, which would exceed a record 2022 surge that kept electricity flowing. Lake Powell, held back by Glen Canyon Dam, supplies inexpensive and carbon-free electricity to more than 350,000 homes. But it comes at a growing cost elsewhere in a contested river basin relied upon heavily by ranchers, industries and some 40 million residential water customers. At Flaming Gorge in southwestern Wyoming, Buckboard Marina owners Tony and Jen Valdez are eyeing water levels expected to decline by 10 feet (3 meters) by late summer because of the releases. It will mean an ever-longer drive to the water’s edge to launch boats. “Of course we’re concerned,” Jen Valdez said. “And it will probably get to a point where we’ll need to be more concerned.” A balancing act to keep up power production If everything goes to plan — and with no relief from the weather — Flaming Gorge will fall by as much as 27 feet (8 meters) a year from now, leaving Buckboard Marina even more high and dry. Though it’s likely only a temporary solution amid long-term drought, there will be effects downstream, too, as U.S. Bureau of Reclamation water managers plan to keep more water than usual from flowing out of Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah line. Downstream, Lake Mead near Las Vegas is on tra…