Price tag for flood of Grand Canyon: $8M Arizona Daily Sun
The multiple federal agencies planning a large, five-day flood in the Grand Canyon in hopes of washing more sand into the Colorado River ecosystem have prepared an analysis of potential costs and benefits.
The experiment is expected to cost about $8 million in research costs and lost power, as the water released from the dam will bypass power turbines. The flood is expected to help build beaches in the river and potentially aid endangered humpback chub overall, by improving the backwaters they inhabit, according to an environmental analysis by the Bureau of Reclamation. Most of the sand that used to flow through the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon is now trapped upstream of Glen Canyon Dam.
It’s also anticipated some of the young endangered chub may be washed away in the flood and killed, according to an opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Overall, the same amount of water is typically released from the Glen Canyon Dam year to year, due to interstate agreements regarding the Colorado River system.
But this proposed experiment would change when in the year some of the water will be released, which leads to reduced ability to generate power during the hottest and coldest times of the year.
The March 4-9 flood has yet to receive final approval.
To read more, see www.usbr.gov/uc/envdocs/ea/gc/2008hfe/GCDexprelEA.pdf.
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