Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell - Microcosm of Changing Priorities

LeRoy W. Hooton, Jr.

October 6, 2000

Love it or hate it, Glen Canyon Dam and the water stored behind it in Lake Powell dazzles the eye as viewed in the midst of the red colored desert of northern Arizona and southern Utah. Setting aside one’s bias regarding the dam, the view makes a vivid impression with the deep blue waters of Lake Powell contrasting with the seemingly

Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1964.

endless Navajo sandstone background. Holding back the blue ribbon of Colorado River water is Glen Canyon Dam. Completed in 1964, the 710-foot high structure with a crest length of 1,560-feet impounds 27 million acre-feet of water from the Colorado River Upper Basin watersheds. The dam forms the second largest man-made lake in the Western Hemisphere extending 186 miles up the Colorado River creating 1,900 miles of shoreline. Because of its size it took 17 years to fill.

Glen Canyon Dam was constructed as the key feature of the 1956 Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP) to ensure that Upper Basin states receive their annual water allotment and still meet their flow obligations at Lee Ferry, Arizona, under the terms of the 1922 Colorado River Compact. The Glen Canyon Dam project further provides flood control, a million kilowatts of hydropower and recreational opportunities. Other CRSP storage dams include Flaming Gorge on the Green River in northeastern Utah; Blue Mesa and Morrow Point on the Gunnison River in Colorado; and Navajo on the San Juan River in northern New Mexico.

When Glen Canyon Dam was authorized, federal dam building was viewed as the goose that laid the golden egg, bringing economic development and prosperity to the West. The engineering marvels were icons placed within the 17 western states that are eligible for reclamation projects under the 1902 Water Reclamation Act.

The Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam. The greenish color is caused by algae.

However, national environmental awareness and the effects of federal laws such as the Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts have fostered changing attitudes towards dams. Where society once held the view of conquering and developing the West, the view is changing to one of preserving the West's resources. Reflecting this change, the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), once the premiere dam builders has changed its mission to managing existing resources and facilities under the slogan, "Managing water in the American West." To show how much things have changed, several years ago, at the Colorado River Water Users Association meeting held in Las Vegas, the unthinkable happened. In a speech given by Bruce Babbitt, the Secretary of Interior told the assembled Colorado River stakeholders that he wanted to be the first secretary to tear down a dam. This statement was a complete reversal of philosophies of previous Secretaries, who historically championed construction of dams and reclamation projects. No doubt it spun some heads.

The level of debate over adverse impacts of dams on rivers has grown over the past decades. Most notable are dams located in the northwest and their impact on the salmon and those on the Colorado River. In recent years, Glen Canyon Dam has been the focus of public attention. In 1982 Reclamation began the Glen Canyon Environmental Studies to determine the impacts on the downstream environmental and cultural resources resulting from fluctuating hydropower operations of the dam. In 1992, Congress passed the Grand Canyon Protection Act, requiring the Secretary of Interior to operate the dam consistent with existing law and in such a manner as to protect and mitigate adverse impacts of the dam. In 1996 the Secretary signed an EIS Record of Decision setting new dam operations criteria and flow parameters.

The Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992, requires the Secretary of Interior to operate Glen Canyon Dam to protect and mitigate adverse impacts to and improve the values for which the Grand Canyon National Park and Grand Canyon National Recreation Area were established.

Today there are organized efforts to drain Lake Powell. Likewise there is strong opposition to draining it. Those who propose to drain the lake want to restore Glen Canyon to its original state. Among others, the Flagstaff, Arizona based Glen Canyon Institute and Moab, Utah Glen Canyon Action Network are two organizations actively working to pull the plug. In 1996, the National Sierra Club voted unanimously in favor of draining the reservoir. David Brower, famed environmentalist, continues to speak out in favor of decommissioning the dam. He still regrets the construction of the dam and the inundation of Glen Canyon. On the other side, there are contrary voices. Most local, state and federal officials do not support draining the lake. Furthermore, there does not appear to be a ground swell of public support for such a drastic measure.

The effort to eliminate dams reaches as far as the tributaries of the Colorado River. Currently the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is conducting an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) on Flaming Gorge Dam to determine what is the best approach to recover four fish species. Environmentalists are urging that decommissioning the dam be included as an alternative in the EIS. Other demands include the elimination of non-native predatory fish species, elimination of motorboats and personal watercraft, and undertaking a comprehensive EIS of Bureau of Reclamation's activities in the Colorado River Watershed for the purpose of establishing a basin-wide recovery plan for all endangered species.

Flaming Gorge Dam on the Green River is currently under study.

Despite changing times and attitudes, thousands of people visit the major dams along the Colorado River. Hoover and Glen Canyon dams attract large numbers of people to their visitor centers to learn about the construction of these water behemoths. Campsites are full and there is abundant water recreational activities. Hydropower from the dams provides electrical energy for millions of Americans. Likewise the Colorado River provides irrigation water to western farmers and municipal and industrial waters to major population centers in Utah, Nevada, Arizona and California.

Glen Canyon Dam seems to be growing as the symbolic battleground over the past damming of America’s rivers; and a microcosm of the complexities and challenges facing us in balancing environmental concerns and the need to develop and use water in the West. For most Americans, the choices made years ago were rather simple, but today dealing with those choices is more difficult.

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