Agencies that both distribute and rely on Colorado River hydropower are rethinking how much energy they can count on in the future
Glen Canyon Dam
Posted inOpinion
Carman: In this sizzling summer, what’s left of the mighty Colorado River still casts its spell
The temperature is north of 100. We’re floating in the current in our life jackets, looking up — way, way up — at what used to be the water line in the Colorado River at Cataract Canyon. I’m not any good at estimating heights, but I’d guess it was about two stories above the river […]
Posted inWater
500,000 acre-feet of water will be released from Flaming Gorge reservoir in Wyoming to protect Lake Powell
Blue Mesa near Gunnison is for the moment safe from letting more water go, but Colorado River Drought Operations Plan says that could change
Posted inWater
Interior Department may limit Lake Powell water releases to protect infrastructure, hydropower production
The potential plan would not immediately impact Colorado water users, but it’s another sign of the challenges facing the Colorado River
Posted inWater
Lake Powell outlook “substantially worse” than predictions after water level falls below target elevation
It’s not looking to be a good season for boating on Blue Mesa — if there’s a season at all
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News, Water
Drought stops agency from flooding Grand Canyon to restore beaches
LAS VEGAS — The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation decided not to send water rushing through the Grand Canyon this month to rebuild beaches for campers and sandbars for fish because of persistent drought, officials said. An abundance of sand in the Colorado River system gives the agency an opportunity to flood the waterway to spread […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News, Water
Three Colorado River Basin reservoirs will be partially drained to keep Lake Powell producing hydropower
The nation’s Western drought is so severe that federal predictions of Colorado River flows into Lake Powell for 2021 dropped by the equivalent of 10 Lake Dillons in just six months, according to a key new report. In issuing the report Friday, U.S. water engineers said they will for the first time take water […]
Posted inEnvironment, News
Changes were made to water flow out of the Glen Canyon Dam. And that led to more bugs in the Colorado River.
By Felicia Fonseca, The Associated Press FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Ted Kennedy sums up what he sees along the river in the Grand Canyon: “It’s buggy out there.” That is to say, an experiment to change the flow of water from a dam near the Arizona-Utah state line appeared to boost the number of aquatic insects […]