The Grand Canyon is about to take a bath, and National Park Service officials who oversee the natural wonder are worried.
Federal flood control managers, led by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, this week plan to unleash millions of cubic feet of water from behind Glen Canyon Dam to "flush" the huge canyon bottom with a simulated springtime flood.
Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Geological Survey specialists say the 60-hour "blowout," followed by a series of smaller flows this fall, are needed to scour accumulated sand off the Colorado River bottom, then gradually restore sandy beaches and side pools for endangered species and campers.
The flows begin today, and a massive release is set for Wednesday in a media event with Kempthorne.
At its peak volume, 41,500 cubic feet per second of water will burst from tubes at the bottom of the dam, temporarily reducing flows to hydroelectric turbines. The experiment will not affect power or water supplies to customers, officials said.
National park officials said that 10 years of research at a cost of $80 million had shown that the flooding as planned could irreparably harm the national park's ecology and resources.
Grand Canyon National Park Supt. Steve Martin said he was given a day to formulate comments to a cursory environmental assessment of the project. In those comments, he wrote that statements by the Bureau of Reclamation used to justify the flows' timing were "unsubstantiated." Far from restoring crucial sand banks and other areas, the flows could destroy habitat, Martin said.
One flood was not enough, Martin said Monday. Holding off follow-up flows for months would leave endangered humpback chub fish, sandbars used by river rafting trips, and archaeological treasures at river's edge diminished "almost to the point of no return," he said.
Martin suggested the timing of the flows served hydroelectric power producers who need peak production during hot summer months.
"The best time to get the most money for your hydropower is during peak energy demands, which is generally daytime hours and generally in the summer," he said.
The U.S. Geological Survey acknowledged the floods had been timed in part to maximize power generation during peak demand.
Martin said he and his staff had been "assured" this week that they would be allowed to discuss additional releases, including the possibility of flooding during summer months.
