Upbeat Report from Grand Canyon Flood

Flooding beneficial but probably won't be repeated until 2012.

The recent artifical flood unleashed earlier this month via a three-day water release from the Glen Canyon Dam that I blogged about earlier this month appears to have been successful -- better that the two previous floods that, at the time, were also reported to have been successful in rebuilding sandbars for wildlife habitat and also as beaches were rafters could camp.

According to a widely published Associated Press report, Grand Canyon National Park superintendent, upon returning from a five-day trip down the recontoured Colorado River flowing through canyon floor, told reporters, ""On a couple of big sandbars there were already beaver tracks, bighorn sheep tracks. You could see the animals already exploring new aspects of the old canyon....It changes the feeling of the canyon as you see the sediment along the shoreline from a feeling of increased sterility to one of a greater amount of vibrance. The benefits are substantial."

This is a contrast to similar manmade floods in 1996 and in 2004, which, according to the AP report, "actually resulted in a net reduction in overall sandbar size because they were conducted when the Colorado River was relatively sand-depleted, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Officials believe this year's flood will be beneficial because sand levels in the river are at a 10-year high and are three times greater than 2004 levels. Whatever benefits come from this year's flood, however, will be eroded within 18 months without additional floods every year to 18 months depending on the amount of sediment available, Martin said. In its environmental assessment on Glen Canyon Dam releases, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation calls for no other high-flow releases until after 2012."

So now that the authorities have figured out when and how to do it, there's another example of a foot-dragging federal government that now predicts that this year's benefits could well be gone within 18 months but is planning to wait another four years before unleashing another flood.