Well, if I read the article correctly, it’s actually hurting downstream Colorado River. Lake Powell is a reservoir for a reservoir (Mead). Which actually sounds a little screwed up to me.
That and you end up with two massive bodies of water that the desert air sucks up in addition to encouraging everyone else to suck up what’s left, which just exacerbates the situation. And California is the biggest suck for all all that water and they’re not even adjacent.
The mayor of Page actually sounds rather pragmatic and even optimistic in a way over the change in circumstances for his town.
Another way to look at it - two reservoirs provide more storage capacity than just one. And storage capacity can be important, in terms of maximizing the benefits of wet years, and moderating the negative impacts of dry years.
If the water in Lake Powell isn't going where it's needed, a sensible approach might be to negotiate for the water rights, rather than trying to destroy half the existing storage capacity...
Without those two dams you can just close So. Nevada, So. California, New Mexico, Arizona, and the millions of acres of agriculture that go along with it. If you want to starve in the dark in the south west removing those dams would be a good way to do it.
The evaporation of the water, feeds the clouds that feed the snow and rain, that then feeds the river. It is more likely that draining the lake, will result in more drought.
Dictator Inslee in WA state has as part of his plan to move to “watermelon energy”, first classifying the dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers as non-renewable, then breaching the dams to restore salmon habitat. Of course THAT won’t affect power supply and rates over at least 4 states at all. The idiots Just Don’t CARE.