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Joey ChaplaUpward Bound Geology Student |
| Glen canyon dam | History | Controversy | Pull The Plug? | My feelings | | |
Construction of the dam began in 1957 and it was completed 1964. It stands 710 feet tall and contains over 4.9 million cubic yards of concrete, making it larger in volume than Hoover Dam. It cost 272 million dollars to build. It created Lake Powell Reservoir which is 186 miles long and there are 1,986 miles of shore line. On the date of completion the dam's storage capacity was 27 million acre feet, however due to sedimentation and silting it has dropped by over 2,000,000 acre feet.
Before construction Glen canyon was a natural wonder and amazing geologic feature.
(The above pictures were taken from www.glencanyon.org )
The Glen Canyon Dam has been at the center of a hot ecological debate because of its possible long term damage to the environment. Silting is one of the largest issues surrounding the Glen Canyon controversy. Sedimentation occurs because the Colorado River is a very sediment-rich river. When the river flows into Lake Powell and the suspended sediments sink to the lake's bottom filling the submerged canyon. This process is quickly filling the dam, and will make it an ineffective source of power in the future. Further more, the sediment that is released from the dam is sediment free. And a low sediment river down stream increasing the rate of erosion in the grand canyon in turn eroding away sand beaches that were once common before the 60's along the river. This has hurt rafting and camping down river as shores erode away to bare rock. Silting has also made the dam a danger, because with diminished storage capacity it may not have the capacity to hold flood volumes that may occur in the future. The dam has become effectively outdated and dangerous.
Many groups are in favor of pulling the plug on the Glen Canyon Dam, but what effect would that have on the area? The local power wouldn’t ever really be felt because there is currently a surplus of power in the southwest and Glen Canyon only supplies 3% of that power. It would negatively affect the recreational wonderland that is Lake Powell. Tourism is the largest industry to that area and there is no denying that draining lake Powell would hurt the local economy. There are so many recreational industries that have rooted themselves on the shores of Lake Powell that if it didn't exist anymore the towns in the area would fail and go bankrupt. There is a large dependency on every form of water recreation.
(above pictures from www.lakepowellmag.com )
However it’s likely that area would rebound quickly because the canyon would probably be restore by flushing the silt out from the canyon, replenishing beaches in the grand canyon, and exposing the natural Navajo sandstone of the canyon, Because in 1992 when the lake was at its lowest the upper sections of canyon were exposed and silt in those areas simply washed away.
I think that the Glen Canyon Dam is a useless feat of engineering. It will have far reaching environmental impacts in the future, and even its immediate draining wouldn't undo the harm that has been done in the past 40 years for the next 400 years.
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Last updated Monday, May 20, 2002 04:18:17 PM
This page was created by Joey Chapla.
For comments and questions I can be reached at poohdude101@hotmail.com
Last updated Monday May 20, 2002 04:18:17 PM