The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, under the direction of the Department of the Interior, will increase water releases from Glen Canyon Dam beginning on Monday, Nov. 5, and ending on Nov. 8, in what is being called a “high-flow experiment.”
USBR and National Park Service officials advise river users to exercise caution along the Colorado River through Glen and Grand canyons and the easternmost portion of Lake Mead during the entire week of Nov. 5.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) issued a press release on Oct. 29 and said the water release is in support of a high-flow experiment in partnership with the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey.
The water releases will begin to increase early Monday morning and will peak at approximately 38,100 cubic feet per second at 2 p.m.
Flows will continue at that peak for 60 hours and will move accumulated sediment downstream. The flow is expected to help rebuild eroded sandbars and beaches through the Glen and Grand canyons. The sandbars and beaches are important for life in and along the river, USBR said.
Flow level information will be posted online and at multiple locations in both Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park.
USBR said that it will take several hours and up to two days following beginning and end of the high-flow experiment for high flow waters to reach, and then recede, at downstream locations in the canyons, depending on the distance from the dam.
River users advised to use extreme caution
“Flows will continue at that peak for 60 hours and will move accumulated sediment downstream.”
