Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Grand Canyon nooding experiment wraps up :: The Daily Herald, Provo Utah <br /> <br />Daily Herald: Sun II Today I Tue I Wed I Thu I Fri I Sat <br /> <br />01809 <br /> <br />ARCHIVE CLASSIFIEDS I JOBS I AUTOS I HOMES SUBSCRIBE 801.373.50 <br /> <br />Page 1 of2 <br /> <br />Community Weeklies: Lone Peak I Lehi I Eagle Mountain I American Fork I Pleasant Grove I Lindon I Orem I Springville I Spanish Fori <br /> <br />. '. <br />lJQltltiiHemtb <br /> <br />Your Town. YOur Nelghbot5. Your Newspaper. <br /> <br />HOME <br />Comments <br />BloQs <br />Search News <br />I <br /> <br />Advanced Search <br />Web Directory <br />Articles by Date <br />La in <br />Re ister <br />Email U date <br />Lost Password <br /> <br />I Spanish .:I <br /> <br />Translate I <br /> <br />o <br /> <br />360 SUNNY <br />NEWS <br /> <br />TOP STORIES <br />WEATHER <br />TRAFFIC CAMS <br />MOST WANTED <br />NATION/WORLD <br />OUR TOWNS <br />BUSINESS <br />Stocks <br />Mortoanes <br />Lenal Notices <br />OPINION <br />LETTERS <br />SUBMIT LETTER <br />POLLS <br />OBrruARIES <br />SPORTS <br />COUGARBLUE <br />PREP SPORTS <br />BEAT THE ZUKE <br />UFE Ii STYLE <br />UV/Entertainment <br />CELEBRATIONS <br />MOVIE TIMES <br />GAMES <br />COMICS <br />PHOTO GALLERY <br /> <br />AD RATES <br />Retail <br />Classified <br />Pre-nrint <br />Web <br /> <br />HAVE YOU SEEN US LATELY? <br />c~2 WEEKS FREE$I <br /> <br />Friday, November 26,2004 - 12:00 AM e I CI <br /> <br />Grand Canyon flooding experiment wraps <br />up <br /> <br />Beth DeFalco THE ASSOCIATED PRESS <br /> <br />PHOENIX h Scientists say changes in the Colorado River were already apparent <br />Wednesday as a Grand Canyon flooding experiment began winding down. <br /> <br />A controlled flood aimed at restoring the Grand Canyon's fragile ecosystem <br />started Sunday morning, when the Bureau of Reclamation opened four giant <br />steel tubes at the Glen Canyon Dam, sending a torrent of water into the river. <br />It was scheduled to end at 1 a.m, Thursday. <br /> <br />While scientists say experiment results surrounding the simulated flood were <br />too preliminary to be reliable, changes to the river were visible. <br /> <br />Bennett Raley, assistant Interior secretary for water and science, was among a <br />small group of researchers rafting down the Colorado River during the test. By <br />satellite phone from the canyon, he described the river as "velvety chocolate <br />and red" with strong currents. <br /> <br />"There's a lot of sediment in the river," he said. <br /> <br />The goal of the flood was to redistribute 800,000 metric tons of sediment along <br />the Colorado River to cover archaeological sites, restore beaches and save fish <br />and plants that have been disappearing since sediment-free water began <br />nowing from the man-made dam 40 years ago. <br /> <br />The Interior Department began studying the effects of the Glen Canyon Dam in <br />the early 1980s and discovered that beaches downstream from the dam were <br />washing away. In 1996, officials flooded the canyon with an 18-day water <br />release. Only about nve of those days, however, produced high floods. <br /> <br />Scientists overestimated the sediment levels in the beds of the tributary rivet5 <br />that pour into the river below the dam and sediment that was redeposited by <br />some of the flooding was soon eroded away by slower, more steady flood <br />waters. <br /> <br />The new flood was considered a refinement of the 1996 test. <br /> <br />"The Grand Canyon is terribly important but so is power production," Raley <br />said. "Anytime man shows up, we have an impact on the environment. The <br />challenge Is how we manage that impact." <br /> <br />The latest dam drain is estimated to cost just under $2 million in potential <br />power generation, according to the Colorado River Storage Project office. <br /> <br />At its peak, the test sent 41,000 cubic feet of water rushing throughout the <br />Glen Canyon Dam every second. <br /> <br />The controlled flood will not change the annual water release from Lake Powell, <br />but it is expected to drain the lake somewhat in the short term, Chip Groat, <br />director of the US Geological Survey, said the Bureau of Reclamation will <br />calculate the flood into the total water allotment for the year and adjust future <br />flows to compensate. <br /> <br />About 50 scientists, including Raley, were on and around the river to study the <br />Immediate effects on the canyon. <br /> <br />While test samples were preliminary, Raley said there was some indication that <br />the controlled nood seemed to help the endangered humpback chub -- a native <br />fish that has been overrun by trout. <br /> <br />"We're seeing strong numbers of humpback chub in sampling," he said, but <br /> <br />UTAH COUNTY <br />HOME DELIVERY OF <br />THE DAILY HERALD <br /> <br />. Related links <br />)) More Our Towns <br /> <br />)) Stories by Beth <br />DeFalco THE <br />ASSOCIATED PRESS <br /> <br />Most read story in <br />Our Towns: <br />9-29 Police <br />Beat <br /> <br />CLICK NOW <br /> <br />DiJJaro's <br /> <br />We Wanl '0 be yo.... 5hwe <br />CURREH I ^DS <br />IH-STORr fVfHTS <br />JOB OPlHIHGS <br /> <br />BROWSE TODAY'S <br />NEWSPAPER ADS <br />Search Ads <br />I <br /> <br />CLASSIFIEDS <br />PLACE AN AD <br />FIND A JOB <br />FIND A CAR <br />FIND A HOME <br /> <br />nlls Week's <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />Sales (lIwlar <br /> <br /> <br />i Rtillt1; <br /> <br />Real Estate North <br />County <br />Lehi Sbd, 3ba, <br />Ramblr, 3100sf/95% <br /> <br />http://www .harktheherald.comlmodules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=411 OO&mod... 11/29/2004 <br /> <br />Real Estate South <br />