04/17/2024

Colorado River Users Concerned by Damage at Glen Canyon Dam

More than 40 million people rely on it for water

Newly discovered damage to part of the dam holding back America's second-largest reservoir has the 40 million people who rely on the Colorado River worried about their ability to get the water they need.

The dam is a giant concrete monolith between towering walls of desert red rock in just south of the Utah-Arizona state line. Inside it, where the bottom of the dam meets the Colorado River, there are four huge pipes.

"When these are turned on, like during a high flow event, the water will shoot three quarters of the way across the river here," said Bob Martin, the U.S. Department of Reclamation's deputy power manager for Glen Canyon Dam. "It's amazing how far this water will shoot out."

Please select this link to read the complete article from NPR.