Preservation: Let the Water Flow
Categories: Preservation: You Can Help
By: Mark Boardman 05/01/2008
Let the Water Flow
In early March, a torrent of water rushed through the Grand Canyon. It was not an act of God; man was behind the Great Flood of 2008.
Millions of gallons streamed out over a three-day period from the Glen Canyon Dam, which was built north of the canyon in 1963. The structure has provided power to millions of people in Arizona and Utah. But it also changed the natural flow of the Colorado River, holding back sediment and warm water that used to flow to the canyon. The water is now clear and colder.
Because of that change, four fish species became extinct and two others are close. Meanwhile, ongoing erosion has led to the loss of half the camping sites in the canyon in the past decade. Scientists believe the March flood will carry sediment, allowing beaches and sandbars to be rebuilt.
Officials flooded the canyon in 1996 and 2004. Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Steve Martin says the process should be repeated every one to two years to normalize the environs.
928-638-7888 • nps.gov/grca
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