On last Wednesday’s Opinion Page, we talked about the water situation in Lake Alamo, one of Arizona’s most bass, crappie, and catfish lakes.
We will keep you posted as we receive additional information regarding water releases in the lake.
I have received several emails from the Corps of Engineers who manage the water discharge at this dam. I did some additional research on various Legion websites.
Find information about the dam and Lake Alamo. The Alamo Dam was built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1968 and its primary purpose was flood control. An earth-filled dam 283 feet above the river bed. The lake on the southern border of Mojave County covers 17,000 acres and has a water capacity of 1,043,000 acre feet. Alamo Lake water levels are controlled by a water management manual that lists the Alamo Lake target elevation at 1,125 feet.
A series of recent storms have forced large amounts of water from the watershed into the lake, causing the lake’s water levels to rise dramatically.
In January 2023, the lake level was 1,108 feet.
The elevation of Lake Alamo on March 26, 2023 was 1,148.63. A full lake pool is considered 1,129. The lake is 19.63 feet above the full pool and has risen over 40 feet vertically in just three months.
I have received reports from Monday March 20th that the Corps of Engineers is releasing water at a much higher rate than normal. The normal discharge into the Bill Williams River is 25 cubic feet per second.
A news release by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dated spring 2023 states that it will begin by releasing water at a rate of 5,000 cubic feet (37,400 gallons) per second, tapering off to 2,750 cfs on March 25, and eventually 500 cfs. says.
Legion says these higher releases could last three to four months, depending on conditions. Jon Sweeten of the Corps of Engineers’ Reservoir Regulation Section said at least 100,000 acre feet of water is expected to be released from Alamo Lake during that time.
Let’s do some math here. One acre foot of water is 325,851 gallons, according to Sweeten. That means that the amount of water released from Lake Alamo would be an incredible 32.6 billion gallons of water. (100,000 acre feet x 325,851 gallons). The water flows 39 miles downstream towards Lake Havasu.
It’s unclear how much water will flow into the recharge basin between the Alamo and Lake Havasu, but rest assured that a lot of water will flow into Lake Havasu. At the southern end of Lake Havasu and the Colorado River near Parker, anglers and boaters reported seeing the water turn brown.
Pam Kostka is an Operations Project Manager for the Corps of Engineers Operations Division. In her email, she said: Kostka also said the Corps will update the water management manual in 2024 and give the public an opportunity to comment. Hopefully, Arizona She will include information from the Game & Fish Department, Arizona State Parks, our local state legislators, and the Mojave County Board of Supervisors.
No one knows how long this drought will last. But the release of billions of gallons of water this year alone certainly seems tragic.
The only good thing I can see from all this is when this water enters Lake Havasu and the Colorado River. It will likely reduce the amount that needs to be drawn from the Colorado River upstream from Lake Havasu via central Arizona. A thirsty Southern California farmer who has a project canal or water right.
There is no doubt that this long drawdown also affects bass and crappie spawning on the lake. Jack Trahan, a local angler who often fishes the Alamo, said his fishing was bad and he was going home.
There was a recent crappie tournament at the Alamo and the winner caught two fish. I got one 2nd place. Please send comments on the situation to alamodamSPL@usace.army.mil or Jon.g.sweeten@usace.army.mil.
