PAGE, AZ (KTNV) — Communities up and down the Colorado River have felt the impacts of drought conditions.
That includes towns near major reservoirs like Lake Mead and Lake Powell.
Places like Page, Arizona, which is about 270 miles east of Las Vegas.
People who live there said Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam are part of their identity and they're keeping an tabs on them while the water level continues to drop.
"[For] locals, that is our go-to spot on the weekend," Amberly Sanchez, manager of Kelly's Sugar House, said. "I think we were the lowest we have been for the longest. It was looking kind of scary there for a little bit."
They really care, especially since Page gets its water directly from Lake Powell. Some describe it as Page's straw in the lake. The lower water levels have forced changes to help the town.
Bryan Hill is the manager of Page Power and Water and he showed us the Glen Canyon Dam.
"[It] was built in 1958. We've watched this drop for the past 20 years," Hill said.
According to Hill, the water intake was moved down the dam by the Bureau of Reclamation to be near the bottom at the hallow jet, the place where water is released.
"The hallow jets mark the location where the water can absolutely go no lower," Hill said.
Hill said in recent years, they've had to look for other places to get electricity. They used to get half of it from the dam.
"With that being throttled way back, we have gone from 40-50% to 10-12%," Hill said. "We have had to go out to the marketplace to buy way more expensive, dirtier energy to replace this clean, renewable hydroenergy"
Hill said they're optimistic after the recent winter. In the coming months, Powell could see the impact of the well above-average snowpack melting hundreds of miles away in the Rockies.
This past week, the lake went up a few feet. It's a glimmer of hope for the town that relies so much on this water.
"Because of the water levels coing back up, it's even bigger for us," Sanchez said. "We are going to see a lot more tourists coming back through."
