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<br />Following is the text of a response by the Burean of Reclamation to David Brower's points <br />published by the Lake Powell Chronicle in January 1997: <br /> <br />Bureau of Reclamation response to the David Brower interview with the Lake Powell Chronicle, <br />Barry Wirth, Regional Public Atfairs Dtlker <br />January 17, 1997 <br /> <br />We have read with great interest the interview comments by David Brower, especially those <br />concerning the physical well being of Glen Canyon Dam and the loss of water from Lake Powell, <br /> <br />First, some thoughts concerning the safely of the dam, The single highest concern of the Bureau <br />of Reclamation is the safety of our facilities, In the absence of any quantifiable data, it is <br />, unconscionable to suggest that there are problems related to the safety of the dam that <br />Reclamation has declined to discuss or hidden from the public, The safety records of Glen <br />Canyon Dam, and all other 347 Reclamation dams, are a matter of public record, <br /> <br />The bottom line is, Glen Canyon Dam is safe and secure, The foundation is excellent. <br /> <br />The problem that Mr. Brower a\luded to related to the damage the two spillways sustained in <br />1983 following the passage of flood flows, Both spillways, which are lunnels around the dam <br />through the sandstone cliffs, were extensively damaged, Significant cavitation was created by the <br />vacuum effect of the water rushing through the tunnel. The problems occurred because the earlier <br />design of the spillways did not provide a means to dissipate the vacuum, not because of the <br />geology of the site, The spillways were completely redesigned and reconstructed with added air <br />intakes to prevent cavitation prior to the 1984 seasonal runoff Tests during that flood period <br />verified that the redesigned spillways would perform to the highest safety standards, <br /> <br />Reclamation has never hidden that event. In fact, it has been quite the opposite, We even <br />produced an award winning video on the reconstruction of the spillways, Challenge at Glen <br />Canyotlto this day remains one of our most popular videos distributed to the public, <br /> <br />As suggested by Mr, Brower, draining Lake Powell, "repairing" Glen Canyon Dam, and refilling <br />the reservoir some 100 years from now simply makes no sense since there is nothing wrong with <br />the dam in the first place, <br /> <br />Concerning Mr, Brower's comments on water loses from Lake Powell, there is no question that <br />there is water loss to evaporation and bank storage, That is a fact with any large body of water, <br />Here are the figures, as provided to the Sierra Club, <br /> <br />3 <br />