Minimum Power Pool, Explained
The level where hydropower stops — and today's margin at Lake Powell and Lake Mead.
- Minimum power pool is the lowest reservoir elevation at which a dam's hydropower turbines can still generate electricity.
- At Lake Mead it is 950 feet; as of the lake is 91.4 feet above it.
- At Lake Powell it is 3,490 feet; the lake is 33.2 feet above it as of the same date.
The thresholds, in order
Going down: normal operating range → minimum power pool (hydropower stops) → the inactive pool (water can still be released, no power) → dead pool (no gravity releases at all). For Lake Mead those are 950 ft and 895 ft, per the National Park Service's Lake Mead storage-capacity page. For Lake Powell they are 3,490 ft and 3,370 ft; in Reclamation's July 2026 Probable Minimum 24-Month Study run, Glen Canyon Dam's power-plant releases go to zero (bypass only) once the projected elevation falls below about 3,490 ft — see projections.
Why it matters
Hoover and Glen Canyon dams are major Western power producers; below minimum power pool that generation is gone until levels recover, and releases must pass through lower-capacity bypass works. Lake Powell's 3,490-ft threshold has driven recent operational decisions, including reduced annual releases and extra releases from Flaming Gorge upstream (see the notes on the projections page).
Related
Dead pool · Lake Mead today · Lake Powell today · Shortage tiers