Officials will not release cool water from a Colorado River reservoir to protect threatened fish
Federal officials said Thursday they will not release cool water this year from one of the Colorado River's major reservoirs, which would have protected a threatened native fish downstream but put more strain on already struggling hydropower production.
Federal officials have announced they will not release cool water from Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River this year, a decision that aims to protect the threatened humpback chub but may strain hydropower production. The Bureau of Reclamation informed various groups that water from the dam would not be released due to significant concerns over hydropower generation under already strained system conditions.
The decision comes as the Colorado River and its reservoirs shrink from overuse and climate change, forcing officials to balance the conservation of the humpback chub against the cost of electricity for ratepayers. The river's water, which relies on the reservoirs for supply, has reached a record low, a situation exacerbated by the worst snowpack on record for the Colorado River Basin.
The humpback chub, a native fish threatened by the invasive smallmouth bass, is at risk due to warmer river temperatures. The Bureau of Reclamation considered recommending cold water releases based on average daily temperatures exceeding 60 F (15.5 C) for three consecutive days, but such releases would have resulted in significant power generation loss from the dam.
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