Grand Canyon To Be Flooded With Man-Made Flow A man-made flood is expected to tear through the Grand Canyon as part of attempts to restore its ecosystem. Officials will pump enough water to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool into the Colorado River every other second, according to the Arizona Daily Sun. They hope to spread sediment throughout the canyon, creating sandbars and beaches for campers and protection for archaeological sites. Much of the sediment once deposited throughout the Grand Canyon is trapped behind a dam near the Arizona-Utah border. Officials hope to recreate the high flow that would have naturally occurred before the dam was built 50 years ago. The sediment-rich water is essential to the canyons wildlife habitat. Anne Castle, assistant secretary for water and science at the US Department of the Interior, said: The idea is to see if we can react whenever conditions are right, whenever theres a lot of sediment load in the river. (We will see) whether we can reverse or at least stabilise the net loss in sediment that has been occurring in the river below Glen Canyon Dam. Similar high-flow experiments have been held in the past, including in November 2012. Three times more sediment could be pushed through the river this year. The experiment, which will last until Saturday, will alter some of the activities that take place in the Grand Canyon.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 14:16:47 +0000
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