by: Duncan Phenix
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A large release of water from Lake Powell began Monday morning. It’s water that will eventually end up in Lake Mead near Las Vegas after a two-day journey through the Grand Canyon where it will help restore sandbars and beaches while moving sediment downriver.
Monday’s water release from the Glen Canyon Dam is called a High Flow Experiment (HFE) by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The National Park Service (NPS) is working with Reclamation to ensure people using the Colorado River in the canyons know a surge of water is on the way.
The last time Reclamation conducted an HFE was in Nov. 2018 and has been doing them sporadically since 1996. Lake Powell, much like Lake Mead, has seen its water level rise and subside over the years, but the last time it was full was the summer of 1983. That summer Reclamation used an HFR to release more than 100,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) to lower the reservoir and help the downriver canyons.
