Dam EIS Dilemma: A Proposal

   Friends of the River (F.O.R.) has been working to protect Grand Canyon since the early 1980’s. We are concerned with the lack of sufficient studies on “steady state” flow regimes for the Glen Canyon Dam EIS. In a recent letter to the EIS study team, F.O.R. proposed that, as the first task of the Adaptive Management Plan, a well-planned, 3-5 year, research program on “seasonally adjusted steady” flow regimes be implemented starting in 1994. At the completion of the studies all of the new information can be put into context and reviewed to determine which flow regime and structural improvements are “best” for Grand Canyon. Guidelines should be established for making the final choice on a flow regime. If, at the end of this study, a team of pre-selected scientists determines that a steady state flow regime does not provide greater benefits to the downstream canyon, then the Bureau’s Preferred Alternative would go into effect with F.O.R.’s support.

   The Bureau is presently developing the “Low Fluctuating Flow” regime as their Preferred EIS Alternative. However they are mandated by the Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992 to provide a flow regime which is best for the Grand Canyon downstream. We feel that if “base load” power would benefit the Canyon more than fluctuating flows, and did not impinge upon other authorized priorities of Glen Canyon Dam, the 1992 Act requires that this flow regime be implemented. Power production is clearly secondary to the protection of the Canyon downstream.

   Only a limited number of “steady state” flow studies have been completed so far and many scientists agree that to make a sound decision, 3-5 years of the various steady state flows should be observed. Studies have shown that, during steady state flows main channel and backwater eddy temperatures increased. Temperature is critically important to the habitat of the juvenile chub and to spawning. Present fluctuating flows decrease the possibility for backwater eddies to warm substantially. The proposed in-depth research would determine, among other things, whether warmer water would also have an unexpected negative effect by allowing predators of the chub to flourish. By beginning in 1994 the study, along with possible studies on a temperature device and sediment bypass systems at Glen Canyon Dam, could be completed and considered in the final decision.

Kevin Wolf and Andrea Gates
Friends of the River