AUDIO: Lake Powell water levels fall below set threshold

by Adnan Alam
  • Slug: CN2GO
  • Runtime: 5:02
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THIS IS YOUR CRONKITE NEWS 2GO BRIEFING.

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I’M   Thalia Lopez             (  go to story ) 

HEADLINE 1 – Lake Powell water levels hit a new low

HOST INTRO

LAKE POWELL IS AN IMPORTANT SOURCE FOR POWER GENERATION AND WATER FOR LOWER COLORADO RIVER BASIN STATES LIKE ARIZONA, CALIFORNIA, AND NEVADA. THIS WEEK THE LAKE’S WATER LEVELS DROPPED BELOW AN IMPORTANT THRESHOLD SET BACK IN 2019. CRONKITE NEWS’S EVAN LIS EXPLAINS WHAT THIS MEANS. 

(***EVAN LIS/VO***)(this is your first video sequence/timeline)

THREE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE FEET. THIS IS THE WATER LEVEL THAT ALLOWS THERE TO BE AMPLE SPACE BEFORE GLEN CANYON DAM’S ABILITY TO PRODUCE HYDROELECTRICITY IS THREATENED. LAKE POWELL, WHICH SITS BEHIND GLEN CANYON DAM, REPORTED WATER LEVELS BELOW THIS THRESHOLD FOR THE FIRST TIME YESTERDAY.  WATER LEVELS  ARE NOW CUTTING INTO A THIRTY-FIVE FOOT BUFFER THAT PROTECTS THE SYSTEM FROM GOING UNDER ITS MINIMUM POWER POOL LEVEL. IF LEVELS DROP TOO FAR TURBINES WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GENERATE HYDROELECTRIC POWER. 

SARAH PORTER DIRECTS THE KYL CENTER FOR WATER POLICY. SHE SAYS THIS MEANS MORE WATER CUTS LIKELY FOR UPPER AND LOWER BASIN STATES LIKE ARIZONA. 

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<SARAH PORTER, DIRECTOR, KYL CENTER FOR WATER POLICY>

“If Lake Powell is at these critical levels, the US Bureau of Reclamation could decide to hold back water from Lake Mead, which in turn… could mean bigger cuts for Arizona, and bigger cuts for the other Lower Basin water users as well, but Arizona bears the brunt of those cuts.” 

((**EVAN READS)) 

THOSE CUTS WERE ESTABLISHED UNDER THE DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN WHICH WAS IMPLEMENTED IN  2019. THE CURRENT WATER SITUATION IN THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN HAS BEEN MAINLY DRIVEN BY A TWENTY-TWO YEAR MEGA DROUGHT IN THE WESTERN U-S. AND THE PAST TWO WINTERS HAVE BEEN RELATIVELY DRY. THAT MEANS THERE’S NOT AS MUCH SNOWPACK TO MELT IN SPRING AND RECHARGE THE COLORADO RIVER.

EVAN LIS, CRONKITE NEWS. 

 HEADLINE 2 – Masks could be why flu is down in Arizona

ARIZONA FLU CASES ARE DOWN SHARPLY FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW. HEALTH EXPERTS ARE ATTRIBUTING THAT DECLINE TO THE HEALTH AND SAFETY PRECAUTIONS THAT CAME WITH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.

BY THE FIRST WEEK IN MARCH, THE ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES HAD REPORTED MORE THAN 65-HUNDRED CONFIRMED FLU CASES IN THE STATE. THAT’S LESS THAN 40% OF THE MORE NEARLY 17-THOUSAND CASES THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN REPORTED AT THIS POINT IN THE SEASON, BASED ON A FIVE-YEAR AVERAGE.

EXPERTS CAN’T SAY FOR SURE WHAT IS BEHIND THE DROP, BUT THEY DO BELIEVE IT’S AS SIMPLE AS WEARING A MASK.

HEADLINE 3 – (give the story a headline) 

Spring training set to start this week in the Valley 

SPRING TRAINING GETS UNDER WAY THIS WEEK AFTER MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL’S LOCKOUT ENDED LAST WEEK. CRONKITE NEWS’ ERIC CASTELLON (CAST-UH-LAWN) HAS THE DETAILS ON WHAT’S QUICKLY COMING FOR THE 2022 SEASON.

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BASEBALL IS FINALLY BACK FOR THE 2022 SEASON, AND WITH THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE LOCKOUT ENDING, CAMPS HERE IN ARIZONA HAVE OPENED, AND SPRING TRAINING IS SET TO START THIS WEEK. 

FANS AND PLAYERS ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO A FULL 162 GAME SEASON, DESPITE A SHORTENED SPRING TRAINING SCHEDULE. 

“What’s up Cubs fans? J-Hey here.”

THAT’S CHICAGO CUBS OUTFIELDER JASON HEYWARD. HE TOOK TO THE TEAM’S TWITTER ON MONDAY TO ADDRESS THE FANS IN ARIZONA AND IN CHICAGO. 

“So happy to be back playing baseball, we’re back on the practice fields here in Mesa, getting ready for the season. Great and amazing to see some fans out here supporting already, can’t wait to get back home and see everyone at Wrigley. Much love, we’ll see you soon.”

IT MAY NOT BE A FULL SPRING SCHEDULE LIKE FANS AND BUSINESS OWNERS HERE IN THE VALLEY  HOPED IT WOULD BE. BUT BASEBALL WILL BE PLAYED IN ARIZONA AND FLORIDA UNTIL OPENING DAY ON APRIL 7TH. 

THE FIRST SPRING TRAINING GAMES START TODAY, AND WILL LAST UNTIL APRIL 5TH, HERE IN THE VALLEY. 

ERIC CASTELLON, CRONKITE NEWS.

‘Little Miss Nobody’ identified over 60 years later with DNA 

THE YAVAPAI COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAID TUESDAY A LITTLE GIRL WHOSE BURNED REMAINS WERE FOUND MORE THAN 60 YEARS AGO IN A REMOTE AREA OF ARIZONA HAVE FINALLY BEEN IDENTIFIED. 4-YEAR-OLD SHARON LEE GALLEGOS OF NEW MEXICO WAS FOUND IN A DESERT WASH JULY 31, 1960. THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE AND A TEXAS DNA COMPANY RECENTLY RAISED $4,000 FOR SPECIALIZED TESTING TO FINALLY IDENTIFY HER. AUTHORITIES SAY THE CASE IS STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION.

University of Arizona partners with Space-X to bring the first aerospace surgery fellowship 

SURGERY IS PRETTY HARD… BUT IMAGINE TRYING TO DO IT IN ZERO GRAVITY.

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA IS PARTNERING WITH BANNER AND SPACE-X TO LAUNCH THE FIRST EVER AEROSPACE SURGERY FELLOWSHIP THIS JULY.

AS MORE SPACE MISSIONS TAKE OFF, THE NEED FOR SKILLED SURGEONS AND OTHER SPECIALISTS ON THESE MISSIONS CONTINUES TO GROW.  

THE GOAL OF THE FELLOWSHIP IS TO READY SURGEONS TO PERFORM PROCEDURES UNDER DIFFICULT AND UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES ON UPCOMING NASA .. SPACE-X OR OTHER COMMERCIAL MISSIONS.

GRADUATES OF THE 28 WEEK PROGRAM WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR BOARD CERTIFICATION IN AEROSPACE MEDICINE AND BE DESIGNATED AS FLIGHT SURGEONS.

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WE HAD HELP TODAY FROM   Eric Castellon, Alexia Stanbridge

 and Evan Lis   . 

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YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THE STORIES YOU HEARD IN TODAY’S NEWS UPDATE, BY GOING TO CRONKITENEWS-DOT-AZPBS-DOT-ORG. 

THAT’S ALL FOR YOUR CRONKITE NEWS 2 GO. I’M  Thalia Lopez              . 

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