Grand Canyon flood, mud to boost lifeblood
Glen Canyon Dam plan will help rare fish, redistribute sediment
By Jerd Smith, Rocky Mountain News
Published March 4, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.
Updated March 4, 2008 at 11:24 a.m.
Photo by Chris Schneider © The Rocky
The Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz., they will open up the Glen Canyon Dam's jet tubes to conduct a high-flow experiment. The experiment will boost the flow of the Colorado river.
Photo by Chris Schneider © The Rocky
A boat on Lake Powell near the Glen Canyon Dam.
Photo by Chris Schneider © The Rocky
Julian Chischillie, of Pleasant Grovee Utah, takes a picture of he Colorado River near the Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz., on Monday, March 3.
Photo by Chris Schneider / The Rocky
The Colorado River flows below the Glen Canyon Dam at Page, Ariz., on Monday. Federal managers will release water starting today to create massive waves that will shift sediment, move tons of sand and make better breeding conditions for a 3 million-year-old fish species called the chub.
Photo by Chris Schneider / The Rocky
Julian Chischillie, of Pleasant Grove, Utah, takes a picture Monday of the Colorado River near the Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz. The dam's jet tubes will be opened for 60 hours in a high-flow experiment that will up the flow of the Colorado River to 41,000 cfs in the Grand Canyon.
Photo by John Sopinski @copy; The Rocky
Federal water officials plan a man-made flood at Glen Canyon Dam on Wednesday.
The Colorado River will run wild Wednesday morning, flooding as it did years ago before Glen Canyon Dam was built and Lake Powell filled.
For 60 hours, starting slowly tonight and ramping up to full force Wednesday before winding down on Friday, federal water managers will release some 202,000 acre- feet of water to race down the river through the Grand Canyon.
That's as much water as metro Denver uses in a year.
The big rush will transform the river below the dam, creating massive waves that will redistribute sediment, shove tons of sand around and make this hotly contested stream a better breeding ground for a 3 million-year-old fish species known as the chub.
The fish is as homely as its name implies, scientists say, and so rare that environmentalists, scientists and water managers have spent decades and about $100 million trying to restore its habitat, according to Nikolai Lash, senior program manager for the Glen Canyon Trust.
The flood also will create better beaches for rafters and campers who flock to the scenic Grand Canyon each year.
The giant science experiment is an attempt to mimic spring flows on the river, a stream that has been tightly managed since the early 1960s, when Lakes Powell and Mead were built to store water and generate electricity for some 25 million people.
Wildlife managers and environmentalists once thought work like this was a pipe dream, too large-scale, too expensive and too politically difficult to execute.
This is just the third time an artificial flood has been used at Glen Canyon in the past 30 years, including the most recent mass release, November 2004.
The practice is becoming more common nationwide, however, as scientists learn more about how to mimic a river's historic flows through dam releases.
"We're doing it around the country and around the world," said Tom Iseman, water program manager for the Nature Conservancy in Colorado.
River advocates see this as a way to help reduce the harm already done to Western rivers by massive dams.
A formal plan was completed last year farther up the Colorado River at the Flaming Gorge Reservoir on the Utah-Wyoming border, according to the Nature Conservancy. A similar plan is being studied at Colorado's Blue Mesa Reservoir on the Gunnison River as well as on the South Platte River below Lake McConaughy in Nebraska.
Although still controversial, artificial floods and alternating stream flows are seen by environmentalists as two of the few tools left to protect rivers in an era when, because of drought and climate change, nature is delivering less water and when people and fish need more.
"There are a lot of legitimate concerns," Iseman said. "People are more willing to have this discussion than they used to be, but they want to make sure we've got the science right."
Water managers have long resisted environmental management plans for dams because they make the giant facilities more difficult to operate and often alter the amount of electricity that can be produced.
Lash, of the Glen Canyon Trust, is among the experts who have been studying flows, habitat and sediment on this stretch of the Colorado River since 1994.
Although happy that another flood has been authorized, the trust wants the Bureau of Reclamation to do more. In December, it sued the bureau, demanding not just that spring flows occur but that steadier flows be used to transfer water between Lakes Powell and Mead.
Those flows are better for the chub but make it harder to produce peak electricity from the dam.
Solving such tough issues is a trial-and- error process, Lash said.
"Where things might be changing, though," he said, "is where people feel a heartfelt connection to things that are struggling to live in places we have compromised."
smithj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5474
Details on torrent
* What: A giant man-made flood will begin slowly this evening, with waters being released from Glen Canyon Dam at Page, Ariz. Flows will hit their peaks about 10 a.m. Wednesday and will continue through Friday before they return to normal.
* Why: It's an experiment to help move sediment, improving habitat for endangered fish and reshaping beaches for campers and rafters.
* How much water: Roughly 202,000 acre-feet of water will be released from Lake Powell and captured downstream in Lake Mead. That's about as much water as metro Denver consumes in a year.
This series
Today: Large-scale experiments at federal water projects in which dams are operated to produce spring floods and to alter flows are becoming more common in the West.
Wednesday: Doing anything on the fractious Colorado River - from moving water to generating hydropower to protecting fish - is never easy. In massive experiments like the Glen Canyon flood, water managers worry over their carefully saved water, even as they open the floodgates.
Thursday: A day on the life of the roaring Colorado River. Campers, rafters, scientists and locals watch the floodwaters rise.
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March 4, 2008
7:16 a.m.
Suggest removal
Theoldguy writes:
You mean the salt marsh that is no more? The once great resting spot for millions of migrating shore birds? Who knows.
I hope it accomplished what they desire or it'll look like one major flushing of a toilet.
March 4, 2008
8:21 a.m.
Suggest removal
jsvaldez writes:
I don't know if this will work as they hope it will, but I'm glad they are trying. From the information in the article, it seems the risk factor isn't that high, so let's see what happens.
March 4, 2008
8:52 a.m.
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cmcray1 writes:
KILL THE CHUBS! Why do we spend 100 million on a suckerlike fish that is no good for game, or sport. It will NEVER flourish like it used to. Same thing as the Pikeminnow. It is a waste of money and a failed misssion that no one has the courage to stop. In addition, the Colorado could be a much better sports fishery, but the DOW will not stock it with sports fish (except mushy stocker trout)because they are afraaid that the sport fish will out-compete the chub and Pikeminnow. Isn't that how nature works? The strong survive?
STOP THE WASTE!
March 4, 2008
9:05 a.m.
Suggest removal
Theoldguy writes:
cmcray1
Show up at the monthly DOW meetings. Voice your concerns and listen to the answers. You will be amazed beyond your wildest dreams.
March 4, 2008
11 a.m.
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FlyfishDude52 writes:
Theoldguy - You're absolutely correct about the process with the
DOW. are you aware that it's an even more ludicrous process with
the Bureau of Reclamation?
March 4, 2008
11:21 a.m.
Suggest removal
kemguru writes:
Come on now!
Chubs...beaches...?
How about water for Vegas! Somebody is buying time with a years worth of water supply. Vegas is in terrible danger due to the low level of Mead. Poor, poor water management in the desert oasis that never sleeps.
March 4, 2008
12:09 p.m.
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cmcray1 writes:
old guy. DOW will not listen. The mandate to protect the endangered species comes from higher up the government. There is no use to complain. NOTHING will change. I just wanted to vent.
March 4, 2008
1:07 p.m.
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Francesca writes:
I recall the release in 2004, we photographed water shooting out of those tubes (it was impressive) for documentation. There was damage done to the outlet area, boulders the size of trucks tumbled loose from the force of the water.
The story doesn't mention if it improved the environmental conditions back then. Honestly... improve the beaches for recreation? Like they really care about the campers' comforts? Naw. I don't believe that part.
March 4, 2008
1:31 p.m.
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Theoldguy writes:
FlyfishDude52
I'm going to guess that by your blog name that you do care about the environment, but haven't been drawn to the tree huggers. I'm a falconer and have been since 1975. I've had my eye to the ground for long time and the changes have been unbelievable. Stream wise how is it on your end of the river? Tell me about the Reclamation gang.
cmcray1
Right. DOW is driven by the Fish and Wildlife gang. Falconers have had to deal with them since the 60's. Care to guess WHO taught the Fed's how to breed Peregrine falcons? Who was it that posted guard at the falcon nests to keep eagles away? The list goes on and we (falconers) get put in the unenviable position of looking like bad guys when nothing is ever done illegally by us. Sorry to air dirty laundry.
March 4, 2008
2:06 p.m.
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Francesca writes:
Theoldguy: Falconry? Now that's cool.
March 4, 2008
3:28 p.m.
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Theoldguy writes:
PMSExpress
Thanks. Cool, yes. A lot of work (and tears) for a passion that's lasted a lifetime. Or at least since 75'.
March 4, 2008
3:45 p.m.
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Retread writes:
First we dam the river to control flooding, store water, and harness the energy, then we turn it loose to mimic nature. Seems like quite a waste to preserve a fish that could be preserved upstream, where flooding is still happening?
March 4, 2008
4:11 p.m.
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farsidefan writes:
Is this the equivalant of a colonoscopy (sp) for the Grand Canyon ? I thought National Geo did a story on this about the benefits to the ecosystem. I don't know anything at all about that.
I guess they are trying ,in a sense,to imitate mother nature. Does the release carry a lot of silt from the bottom of the lake behind the dam ?
I have trouble worrying about water for Las Vegas. Sorry.
Falconry, how did you get started ?
March 4, 2008
6:11 p.m.
Suggest removal
Theoldguy writes:
farsidefan
I was single and was interested in learning something new and outdoorsey. Finding a sponsor was interesting in itself. After a two year apprenticeship there is another level of General Falconer that lasts three more years. Then you hit Master which only means that you now know less than you did before because the questions keep forming in your mind.
Now after all these years I'm retired and live in the sticks. I have a horse that I'm training to use for falconry because my knees are shot. No more running far afield in chase of quarry. Now I'll have to do it like the old guys of long ago. It should prove quite interesting on a young quarter horse with a cutting bloodline. Maybe I'll just herd jackrabbits like the South American gauchos.
The DOW has a nice packet for answering questions you might have about the sport.
Regarding a silt problem? The water intakes are far enough from the bottom not to suck dirt and rocks. Remember that the water is use to move generators and "junk" will ruin the turbines. The major amount of silt will be the stuff pushed ahead of the wall of water. More will be redistributed as the volume increases (I have a hunch that the release will be incremental). If for any reason watching that outflow will be fun because it will recreate a spring runoff.
March 5, 2008
8:51 a.m.
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Francesca writes:
Last time they did it, botanists claimed that certain plants returned to areas that hadn't grown there in some time. I seem to recall the lower water temperature of the lake was affected also, which I think was a good thing... I just can't remember the details anymore.
I will look for that packet Oldguy... there was a person that used to do that in the Broomfield area years back. You'd see him blowing a whistle and swinging something on a rope (or so it appeared). I didn't know people still pursued that sport and it looks really interesting and rewarding.
If your knees are bad, you might have considered finding a finished gaited horse rather than a youngster, crazy Oldman! LOL. It will be off to the races for you, just watch those direction changes on a cutting horse! You should look for those EZ Up Legsaver stirrups to save your knees, if you plan to range far and wide.
March 5, 2008
2:06 p.m.
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mattcolver writes:
Lake Powell is so large that it loses a huge amount of water from evaporation. I believe it should be drained completely. That will help keep Mead up at it's optimum level and retain water for use by everyone. Evaporation is not a good use. Also Glen Canyon would be exposed again. From people who saw it said it was much more beautiful that the Grand Canyon. So I say don't just flood for 3 days, flood until Lake powell is empty!!
March 6, 2008
9:14 a.m.
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Asteroids writes:
Has anyone notified the folks downstream of the potential 'wave of silt' heading their way. Guess it makes for great follow-up stories of washed away fly fisherman and natives. Maybe now Cali will stop whining that Lake Mead is receding -- hee, hee, eat West slope mud Cali!
March 11, 2008
9:35 a.m.
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TitanTV writes:
Titan Tv has recently looked at this topic and have made a small segment on our show Daily Greens. We think it was an important subject for viewers and you can check it out at http://youtube.com/watch?v=e5WhUNqMsmM. You can also check our site at TitanTv.com to see other important segments on our environment and other entertaining shows.