Lake Powell could fall to its lowest level since it was first filled more than 60 years ago, raising concerns about water supplies and hydroelectric power across the Southwest.

The Guardian reported that some experts have warned that continued declines could push Lake Powell toward "deadpool" status, the point at which water levels fall so low that gravity can no longer carry releases downstream through Glen Canyon Dam.

"What's unique this year is that there was no recovery at all," Jack Schmidt, director of Utah State University's Center for Colorado River Studies, told the outlet.

"What we expect to happen is that Lake Powell will go to unprecedented low conditions sometime this fall," he said.

Lake Powell, which straddles the Utah-Arizona border, is only about 22% full, or roughly 5.6 million acre-feet, according to U.S. Bureau of Reclamation data.

Unlike 2023, when spring runoff replenished the reservoir after winter declines, water levels barely increased this year following a weak mountain snowpack. Even supplemental releases from Wyoming's Flaming Gorge Reservoir failed to produce a significant recovery.

"Water management in the Colorado River system is starting to get terribly complicated," Schmidt said.

The reservoir now sits about 37 feet above the level where Glen Canyon Dam's hydroelectric turbines begin losing their ability to generate electricity.

The power plant supplies electricity to nearly 6 million homes and businesses.

Lake Powell and downstream Lake Mead provide water for about 40 million people across seven Western states, tribal nations, and Mexico.

Negotiations among the seven Colorado River basin states over future water allocations have yet to produce a long-term agreement.

The Bureau of Reclamation could impose its own plan for water reductions as soon as next month if the states fail to reach a compromise.

Brad Udall, a Colorado State University water researcher, said long-term solutions will require reducing demand.

"There are too many straws in the glass," Udall said. "Rather than having an annual fight over who gets what, let's remove some straws. ... One way to do that is the American way, let's buy 'em out."

Sarah Porter, director of Arizona State University's Kyl Center for Water Policy, said communities still have options.

"We have control over how bad it gets," Porter said. "But the only thing we can do to keep it from getting bad is to take less water out."