Introduction to River Talk: Opening up the Dialog on Glen Canyon, Grand Canyon, and the Colorado River. A blog hosted by Glen Canyon Institute.
The Colorado River system is a tremendous resource that has shaped the lives, economies and landscape of the seven Colorado River basin states. Over millions of years the watershed of the basin has evolved through a series of geologic events and geomorphic processes. Beginning in the early parts of the 20th Century the Colorado River basin is now constrained by over a hundred dams of varying sizes which now shape how the water in the system moves from the headwaters to the Sea of Cortez. Along the way that water is used for irrigation, municipalities, hydropower, recreation, and traditional tribal uses.
Federal, State, tribal and private water development has direct and indirect impacts on the physical, chemical and biological character of the river system. Glen Canyon Institute (GCI) has strived since 1996 to expand the discussion on the opportunity and viability for Glen Canyon and Colorado River restoration based on solid science, accurate data and a transparent process.
As a way to help in the education of GCI members, the public and to help ensure that restoration efforts and debates are based on facts, Glen Canyon Institute is starting this forum entitled River Talk. It will discuss issues that have been raised and aims to influence the debates and on how river decisions are being made.
Over the following months we plan on exploring the following issues, constructed as a series of building blocks of knowledge and inquiry that have emerged from our discussions and presentations with the public and public makers. We intend to begin with several segments focused on the geologic formation and its impacts on the rivers formation and the erosive aspects of the Colorado River basin. From the physical formation we intend to transition to a discussion of the present day watershed characteristics including basin hydrology, water supply, dam development, how reservoirs have changed the natural system, and the variability of the basin water storage capacity. These topics will characterize the historical and present day physical, hydrologic and chemical characteristics of the watershed.
The next series of discussion topics will look at hydropower production on the river system, the use of water for irrigation, impact of trans-basin diversions, the use of dams (with Glen Canyon Dam specifically) to mimic seasonal natural flood characteristics, and the possible impacts to basin hydrology due to climate change. Finishing up this series of topics will be a discussion on alternatives to storing water in surface reservoirs and hydropower production from Federal dams and its influence on the integrity and maintenance of the Western electrical grid.
The final series of discussions will focus on the ongoing debate on the impact of dams on the Colorado River system, the political federal and state process that allocates existing Colorado River water supply, the political challenges facing future management of the river system, the role of the basin tribes in the future of river management, the issues and concerns facing the Republic of Mexico and the Sea of Cortez, and exploring the options for recovery of the Colorado River through Glen Canyon and the rest of the watershed.
As issues evolve we will add subjects to this list and are open to any specific areas of concern that members of the GCI community may have that we have not specifically identified or that emerge regarding river and dam management. Bottom line, we are open to and encourage your suggestions, ideas, questions, and input.
We intend to write these articles in a narrative style. This will likely upset the scientists who are looking for details and specifics and politicos who want factoids to drive future water decisions. Our goal is to strike a balance in the discussion and provide you with important data and issues that may be of interest. We intend to use publicly available materials and will reference items of specific importance. River Talk will be web-based and coordinated and catalogued by Dave Wegner and Mary Gavan with guest writers who we can entice to provide their unique expertise or perspective. Ultimately we intend to consolidate the materials into a printable series of issues and potentially a webinar. We hope you enjoy this collection and that you will participate in the conversation.
