Grand Canyon Issues
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Tell your congressional representative and Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar that science and law should be followed in Grand Canyon National Park. See our goals for specifics.
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The 60-hour high-flow test
About 87 percent of the sediment volume that was once transported to Grand Canyon every year is now trapped in Lake Powell. Now, the only possibility for maintaining beaches and near-shore habitats is by responding to significant sediment inputs from tributaries with high flows from Glen Canyon Dam. Consequently, in March 2009, the Bureau of Reclamation ran a 60-hour high-flow test through Glen Canyon Dam to help replenish lost sediment in the river system below.
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Scientists who monitored river conditions after the high flows concluded that the experiment was a success, building numerous beaches in Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, Reclamation caved into powerful hydropower interests and immediately began releasing erosive, fluctuating flows from the dam. These flows are part of Reclamation’s 5-year Experimental Plan, which fails to include another high-flow test (which are needed every 12–18 months). The Plan also fails to consider the steady flows needed to conserve sediment in the system and provide stable shoreline habitat for the endangered humpback chub.
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