Artificial Flood From Glen Canyon Dam Will Hit Grand Canyon Starting Tonight - SLT

[hatrack]

Starting tonight, the federal government will blast the Grand Canyon with water from Lake Powell for the third experimental artificial flood in 12 years in an attempt to mimic nature and rebuild native fish habitat.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation hopes this year's 60-hour pulse of floodwaters from Glen Canyon Dam will work better than the 1996 and 2004 experiments, which had mixed success in rebuilding sandy beaches and sheltering sandbars for endangered humpback chubs and other fish and wildlife.

"Those conditions were markedly different," said Randall Peterson, environmental manager for the bureau's Upper Colorado Region office in Salt Lake City. This time, he said, the river may be primed for success because of exceptionally high volumes of sediment that tributaries below the dam have washed into the river in recent years. There is three times the 2004 level of sediment available to wash downstream - the highest levels in a decade, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The point is to see whether artificial floods can stir up sediments to adequately rebuild beaches and sandbars that have slumped since the government built the dam and began regulating the flow in the early 1960s. Loss of sandbars has left young chubs, one of a handful of the Grand Canyon's native fish, with fewer rearing places out of the current. Beaches provide both wildlife habitat and campsites for boaters who float through the national park.

EDIT

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8446162

[Up2Late]

1. As usual, the MSM hides the REAL reason for this, which is to...

...clear the accumulated sediments from BEHIND the dam, before the dam gets so clogged with built up sediments that it becomes a major and expensive problem that would take much more money to fix in the future.

This is just the best time to do it, now that the reservoir gone up a little, better than waiting for better times that might not come for a long time.

[jaksavage]

2. They need more dirt

Unfortunatly the dam upstream blocks the huge flow of sediment from above.

Envision an ancient breached dam with jaged concrete and rebar creating a huge cascade. Upstream the reservoir is a huge mud flat, the canyons buried under silt which washes away a bit more each season, rebuilding the beaches downstream.

See it if you can, fantastic river trip.