StMU Research Scholars

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December 5, 2025

A Silent Killer Called Drought: Lake Powell – A Modern Horror Story

During the making of this article, I asked many of my peers what was the most terrifying thing they could think of. Their responses included: ‘a zombie apocalypse’, ‘Michael Myers, ‘the sensation of being alone’, and even ‘killer tomatoes’. Not a single person said the true silent killer that we learned to ignore in this day and age, drought. Drought affects life in many ways that people don’t often consider; inflated produce prices, lawn watering restrictions, forest fires, destruction of natural habitats and many more negative impacts. Yet local governance and other people in power have yet to address and find solutions to the ongoing drought in the American Southwest that has spanned the first decades of the 21st century. In Northern Arizona, Lake Powell has suffered through this drought, only for the effects to intensify and become even more devastating in the past few years.

A Controversial Construction

An image of the Glen Canyon Dam taken May 17 1965. Creator and Copyright belong to Utah gov. and Martha Sonntag Bradley
Figure 1: An image of the recent construction of Glen Canyon Dam taken May 17, 1965, showing the water which flooded Glen Canyon. Copyright/credit: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.1
Before we can begin to understand how and why the effects of drought in the American Southwest have only intensified through the years, we must start at the beginning of Lake Powell’s story. In 1963, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation dammed the Colorado River in Glen Canyon, near the Utah/Arizona border. The controversial construction of the Glen Canyon Dam (Figure 1) led to the creation of Lake Powell, one of the largest reclamation projects in United States history.2

Before the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam, many stakeholders brought up concerns not only on the expense of the project, but the drastic changes this dam would make on the local environment of Glen Canyon. However, those who favored the project believed the benefits of creating Lake Powell outweighed the cost – the addition of a reservoir to the dwindling supply of water in the Colorado River Basin would help address the increasing water needs of a growing population and provide electricity by hydropower generators.

Not everyone was convinced by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation efforts to construct a dam which flooded Glen Canyon, and Edward Abbey, environmental activist and author, wasn’t particularly enthusiastic. He showed his discontent with the Glen Canyon Dam through his witty and satirical novel The Monkey Wrench Gang. Abbey wrote about a fictional group of four radical environmental activists, “the Monkey Wrench Gang”, causing chaos to halt the construction of Glen Canyon Dam and protect the environment.  The gang’s actions get more and more drastic, with the more extreme protest actions referred to as ecotage.3

Ecotage (or monkeywrenching) is an act of sabotage which destroys, temporally decommissions, or blocks industrial equipment and people in order to protect the environment from industrial destruction.4 Illegal actions such as tree spiking (driving steel spikes into trees to damage chainsaws and discourage logging), damaging industrial equipment, and burning billboards are some of the tactics that can be used to stop big development projects which cause harm to the environment. You may ask yourself what does a book have to do with the construction of Glen Canyon Dam? Well, Abbey’s fictional story resonated with many environmental activists, many of whom replicated the actions described in the novel, or even started protests to destroy the Glen Canyon Dam.

The environmental group Earth First, took Abbey’s book as an inspiration to further protest the Glen Canyon Dam. Earth First staged the dam to look like it had suffered severe damage to its structure. They achieved this by hanging 300-foot-long black plastic from the top of the dam to give the appearance of large crack running through the walls, inspired by the plans of Abbey’s fictional Monkey Wrench Gang to blow up the dam. Earth First did this in efforts to bring attention to Glen Canyon Dam and spread awareness to the damage the dam was doing to the surrounding environment.5

Where’s the Water?

Even with the drama accompanying its construction, Lake Powell was still a great addition to the states in the Lower Basin. Located along the downstream portion of the Colorado River, the Lower Basin includes California, Arizona, and Nevada. For a long time, Lake Powell acted as a saving grace when these Lower Basin states suffered extreme drought. Its main reason was to act as a reservoir for fresh water if states in the Upper River Basin (Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico) had overused the Colorado River. Reservoirs such as Lake Powell and Lake Mead, located further downstream, could replenish the lost water and extend it to communities in the Lower Basin.
Lake Powell has suffered severe drought since the early 2000s and is currently experiencing all the effects that come with climate change. For example, the surface area of Lake Powell decreased significantly from 1999 through 2021 (Figure 2), and current models predict that as a result of climate change, water loss will only get worse from here. We can attribute this loss of water to many factors, but the shrinking of Lake Powell starts with the ongoing, long-term drought affecting the region. Before we can make decisions to fix Lake Powell’s problems, however, we first must understand the nature of severe drought.6
Figure 2. Image comparing surface area of water present in Lake Powell in July 1999 to surface area of water present in September 2021, visually displaying how much Lake Powell has shrunk. Creator and copyright belong to Wikimedia Commons.7
Drought is the lack of precipitation over an extremely long period of time; this type of drought is usually prevalent in areas that experience dry, warm climates.8 Places such as Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, California and Texas are no strangers to this hot and dry climate, and experience drought conditions regularly.
The unusual extreme heat present in drier climates in the American Southwest leads to high rates of water evaporation.9 This rapid evaporation is still occurring while more than 40 million people rely on Lake Powell’s water to meet water needs.10 The demands of a growing population and persistent drought have combined to cause Lake Powell to shrink. Climate change has only made Lake Powell’s drought conditions worse as it has increased  temperatures, decreased precipitation rates, decreased streamflow, and increased evaporation rates.11
For example, in Phoenix, Arizona, the annual average temperature has increased by 4.6F since 1970.12 Increased temperature causes evaporation rates in Lake Powell to increase drastically as well. If temperatures continue to rise, Lake Powell’s limited water supply will require reduced water deliveries to communities, and lower water levels in the reservoir would lead  to reduced production of hydroelectricity.13

Who’s Affected?

The community most affected by Lake Powell’s drought is, perhaps to no one’s surprise, the growing population that depends on the Colorado River. Recently, there has been an influx of citizens to western states that use the Colorado as their primary source of water, including Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, California, and Nevada.14 As the population grows, water consumption demands (drinking water, municipal, agricultural, and industrial water) will also have to expand. However, growing populations in the Colorado River Basin aren’t the only ones who are affected by Lake Powell’s drought; farmers, corporate interests, and even you are being affected.

Southwestern farmers are most affected by the drought (Figure 3). The production of alfalfa, a vital crop in the region, has been the most damaged by Lake Powell’s drought, with the harvest being cut by more than half. About 50 years ago, 1.2 million acres of alfalfa was harvested, but in 2020 only 475,000 acres of alfalfa was harvested.15 Alfalfa is an extremely important crop. A main food source for dairy cows that is rich in fiber, protein, and calcium, alfalfa is mainly produced in arid western states and depends on irrigation. So, when an ongoing drought is limiting consumptive water usage, farmers aren’t able to obtain a high yield of alfalfa. This reduced harvest makes the crop increase in value, which causes dairy farms to either pay a higher price for alfalfa, or find an alternative feed for the cattle. The increased cost of alfalfa will therefore affect dairy consumers, causing yogurt, milk, cheese and other products to either have a higher price or to have lower quality.16

Picture taken of an Arizona farmer inspecting soil that has been affected by rising temperatures and drought, soil shown as dry due to lack of moisture. Creator and copyright belonging to Wikimedia Commons.17
Farmers aren’t the only ones who suffer when drought decreases their yields, large agricultural companies have a financial interest in dairy farms, alfalfa farms, and almost any company that uses water has to face the consequences of drought. For any corporation, profit is a driving motive, and persistent drought can jeopardize a the company’s financial bottom line. In this way, companies that depend on the availability of water from the Colorado River may have to make tough decisions with regard to quality and pricing to combat financial losses associated with an extended drought. Consumers are affected by these decisions as well, as they may encounter goods that have decreased in availability and quality, or increased in price.18

The Role of Collaborative Governance in Lake Powell

Collaborative governance is a way for local governments, corporate interest, and the broader community to work together to make shared decisions. The approach helps create better outcomes that are tailored to specific needs and challenges the community is facing, rather than relying on a one-size-fits all solution.19
In the United States, collaborative governance has been shown to improve water quality and management through engagement of all partnered parties. Researchers Hadi Veisi and Christine Kirchhoff surveyed over 100 studies to examine how different states in the U.S. used collaborative governance approaches to address water issues. They not only found that collaborative governance improved overall water quality and management, but frameworks improved the most when everybody contributed to the development and design of water management programs.
In the American Southwest, Phoenix, Arizona used collaborative governance to improve their water management outcomes. They were able to do this through collaboration among representatives of local government, company interests, and members of the broader community to enhance efficiency in groundwater restoration and reuse programs that conserved and maintained increasingly scarce water resources.20

This Is Not The End

A key component of water resources in the American Southwest, Lake Powell has had many issues, from its controversial beginning that drastically changed the environment in Glen Canyon, to its current shrinkage due to increased demand, prolonged drought, increasing temperatures, and rapid evaporation. It is a testament to how humanity can change the environment. Lake Powell is not, however, just a tale of caution, but also an example of how people can engage through collaborative governance to fight common problems, and create productive solutions.  The future isn’t necessarily bleak, but you need to work with everyone now if you don’t want your local environment to become a horror story with a terrible ending.
  1. Glen Canyon Dam Controversy | History to Go. (accessed 2025 Oct 20). https://historytogo.utah.gov/glen-canyon-dam-controversy/. ↵
  2. Glen Canyon Dam Controversy | History to Go. (accessed 2025 Oct 20). https://historytogo.utah.gov/glen-canyon-dam-controversy/. ↵
  3. Schulte SC. The Monkey Wrench Gang Advocates “ecotage.” EBSCO. 2023 (accessed 2025 Dec 4). https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/environmental-sciences/monkey-wrench-gang-advocates-ecotage. ↵
  4. Schulte SC. The Monkey Wrench Gang Advocates “ecotage.” EBSCO. 2023 (accessed 2025 Dec 4). https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/environmental-sciences/monkey-wrench-gang-advocates-ecotage. ↵
  5. Roth E. The Crack at Glen Canyon, 1981. Intermountain Histories. 2024 May 27 (accessed 2025 Dec 4). https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/835 ↵
  6. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Colorado River Basin SECURE Water Act Section 9503(c) Report to Congress. Usbr.gov. 2021 Mar (accessed 2025 Dec 4). https://www.usbr.gov/climate/secure/docs/2021secure/basinreports/ColoradoBasin.pdf ↵
  7. Nwbeeson. 2021. English:  Lake Powell surface area shrinkage from 1999 to 2021 from Landsat imagery, showing the effect of the protracted drought on the amount of water impounded by the Glen Canyon Dam. (accessed 2025 Dec 5). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lake_Powell_surface_area_shrinkage.svg. ↵
  8. The U.S. Drought Portal | Drought.gov. (accessed 2025 Nov 4).https://www.drought.gov/. ↵
  9. How the Climate Crisis is Affecting Arizona. 2019 Nov 25. The Climate Reality Project. (accessed 2025 Dec 5). https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/how-climate-crisis-affecting-arizona…. ↵
  10. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Colorado River Basin SECURE Water Act Section 9503(c) Report to Congress. usbr.gov. 2021 Mar (accessed 2025 Dec 4). https://www.usbr.gov/climate/secure/docs/2021secure/basinreports/ColoradoBasin.pdf ↵
  11. Osezua M, Om Bade S, Gyimah E, Stanley Tomomewo O. 2023. Impact of Climate Change on the Water Resources, Lake Powell, United States. AJWR. 11(3):103–111. doi:10.12691/ajwr-11-3-3. ↵
  12. Climate change in Phoenix, Arizona. Climate Central. (accessed 2025 Nov 24). https://app.climatecentral.org/climate-local/41541. ↵
  13. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Colorado River Basin SECURE Water Act Section 9503(c) Report to Congress. usbr.gov. 2021 Mar (accessed 2025 Dec 4). https://www.usbr.gov/climate/secure/docs/2021secure/basinreports/ColoradoBasin.pdf ↵
  14. Population Growth – Save the Colorado. (accessed 2025 Dec 4). https://savethecolorado.org/threats/population-growth/. ↵
  15. Keppen D, Wade M. White Paper on the Importance of Alfalfa Production in the American West November 15, 2022. ↵
  16. Keppen D, Wade M. White Paper on the Importance of Alfalfa Production in the American West November 15, 2022. ↵
  17. English AJ. 2011. Extreme heat and drought are spreading across 14 states in the US, from Arizona all the way to Florida. (accessed 2025 Dec 5). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parched_ground_-_Flickr_-_Al_Jazeera_English.jpg. ↵
  18. Saini V. 2025. From Heatwaves to Price Waves – Climate Change’s Growing Grip on Our Food System – Climate Fact Checks. (accessed 2025 Dec 5). https://climatefactchecks.org/from-heatwaves-to-price-waves-climate-changes-growing-grip-on-our-food-system/. ↵
  19. Veisi H, Kirchhoff CJ. 2025. Unpacking the success among water quality collaborative governance efforts in the United States. Environmental Science and Policy. 170. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104108. https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=6001e898-d26b-38cc-a238-16ceb563a842. ↵
  20. Larson KL, Wiek A, Withycombe Keeler L. 2013. A comprehensive sustainability appraisal of water governance in Phoenix, AZ. Journal of Environmental Management. 116:58–71. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.11.016. ↵

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