Current location:Global Groove news portal > opinions
More than 30m Americans could face drinking water crisis as officials find major flaws in US dam
Global Groove news portal2024-05-21 14:19:55【opinions】5People have gathered around
IntroductionMore than 30 million Americans could be hit with a water shortage after plumbing issues were found w
More than 30 million Americans could be hit with a water shortage after plumbing issues were found with a major US dam that sits on the Colorado River, officials warn.
Inspectors from the US Bureau of Reclamation found serious pipe damage in the Glen Canyon Dam, which means there will be no spring water release - threatening water supplies downstream.
The pipes in question are called the 'river outlet works,' and they're used to release water down the Colorado River to Lake Mead from the penned up Lake Powell.
A fall release has neither been scheduled nor canceled yet, leaving residents of California, Nevada, and Utah who depend on water from Lake Mead without answers for now.
The pipes in question are called the 'river outlet works,' and they're used to release water down the Colorado River to Lake Mead from the penned up Lake Powell
The Glen Canyon Dam holds back the waters of the Colorado River, forming Lake Powell. Water released from Glen Canyon Dam makes its way down to Lake Mead, but with no releases this spring water levels could fall.
These four 8-foot pipes are the 'river outlet works,' which release water downstream periodically to help re-nourish beaches with sediment.
A fall release has neither been scheduled nor canceled yet, leaving residents of California , Nevada, and Utah who depend on water from Lake Mead without answers for now
There are four eight-foot-wide pipes out of the dam that release water downstream, where it flows about 200 miles into Lake Mead. Lake Mead is the US's largest reservoir - when it's full.
But these pipes may be too damaged to release water to Lake Mead consistently, according to an inspection after their most recent tests, according to the US Bureau of Reclamation.
READ MORE: Lake Powell and Lake Mead are unlikely to refill for another 50 years
The lake has been receding due to recent droughts leaving the lake and rivers parched.
AdvertisementThis means that the residents of Nevada, Utah, California, and parts of northern Mexico who depend on Lake Mead for drinking water may continue to deal with existing water shortages this year - shortages they've faced off and on since 2014.
What's more, the unfavorable inspection report suggests that the river outlet works pipes are not up to the task of releasing water.
This is a problem because the Colorado River Compact requires that water continue to flow.
'In summary, at reservoir levels below the minimum power pool (elevation 3,490 ft), there are concerns with relying on the river outlet works as the sole means of sustained water releases from Glen Canyon Dam,' the memo said.
Farmers and environmental activists have called for draining Lake Powell for years, restoring the natural flow of the Colorado River in that section and refilling Lake Mead.
That movement had not picked up much steam in the past, but with Lake Mead's supply in danger, the situation has changed.
Both Lake Powell and Lake Mead have struggled with waning water levels due to drought and reduced snowmelt from the mountain ranges that flow into the Colorado River Basin.
Lake Mead's water level was at 1,076 feet at the end of February, past the 1,075-foot cutoff indicating water shortage, but its levels have declined through March.
On the Lake Powell side of Glen Canyon Dam, the hydropower penstocks can be seen above the water level. These inlets, situated above the river outlet works, feed water to power turbines.
So the conditions may worsen in the coming months.
After a high flow experiment last year, when a huge amount of water was released to feed Lake Mead, inspectors found significant damage to the pipes involved.
This April, therefore, there will be no such water release.
That means Lake Powell's water level will remain high and safe for those locals.
But without a release, residents downstream are put at risk of water crisis.
The river outlet works are situated about 120 feet lower on the dam than the hydropower penstocks.
Water flowing through Glen Canyon Dam's hydropower turbines helps provide electricity to more than five million people in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Nebraska.
That larger set of pipes funnels water through hydroelectric power-producing turbines on the other side of the dam, providing electricity to more than five million people in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Nebraska.
Not releasing water from the river outlet works may actually improve power production, leaving more water for the turbines - even though power production at Lake Mead could be hampered if the water levels get low enough.
Completed in 1966, Glen Canyon Dam flooded a section of the canyon with the waters of the Colorado River, creating Lake Powell.
Because Lake Powell needs to retain enough water to reliably generate power, the river outlet works are not often used.
Only with the twice-a-year 'high flow experiment' do they tend to get a workout.
These tests see millions of gallons flow through the river outlet works in just a few days.
Part of their reason is to test the pipes, but it's also about feeding Lake Mead and preserving the Colorado River downstream, which both depend on artificial releases from the dam.
Address of this article:http://maldives.boluescortbayan.net/content-36c599962.html
Very good!(19448)
Related articles
- Supreme Court rejects an appeal from a Canadian man once held at Guantanamo
- Why Amylyx is pulling ALS drug Relyvrio from US market after study
- Shoplifter chased by police on horses in New Mexico, video shows
- Thailand plan massive enclosures to contain monkey mayhem in Lopburi
- Pentagon vows to keep weapons moving to Ukraine as Kyiv faces a renewed assault by Russia
- Airplane passenger fined in Sydney for urinating in a cup
- Nearly half of the world’s migratory species are in decline, UN report says
- Colon cancer blood test offers new screening option
- Independent UN experts urge Yemen’s Houthis to free detained Baha'i followers
- US officials warn of increase in bacterial illnesses that can lead to meningitis and possibly death
Popular articles
Recommended
Kate Hudson hits the stage to debut songs from her new album Glorious at star
Western leaders in Kyiv, G7 pledge support for Ukraine on war anniversary
A California dog missing since the summer is found in Michigan
Swedish appeals court rules space rock should stay with the owner of the property where it landed
Children are evacuated from school 'during an exam' after threat made via email
US surgeons transplanted pig kidney into patient for the first time, hospital says
A new Washington state law does not offer cash for reporting hate speech
Posts misrepresent White House Easter egg contest, Day of Transgender Visibility proclamation
Links
- Mali's junta bans the media from reporting on political activities in a deepening crackdown
- The US and UK restrict the trade of Russian
- California man sentenced to 40 years to life for fatal freeway shooting of 6
- Guilty plea by leader of polygamous sect near the Arizona
- Prominent surgeon says he was denied entry to Germany for a pro
- Germany: Parliament’s lower house to vote on gender self
- A Palestinian is killed as Israeli settlers rampage in his village and troops fire on stone
- China is surging equipment sales to Russia to help war effort in Ukraine, US intelligence finds
- Far fewer young Americans now want to study in China, something both countries are trying to fix
- US — Chinese military planners gear up for new kind of warfare