Reader comments
River is 'set free' — Water blasts out of Glen Canyon Dam

What a bunch of idiots!!!!

This is a glimpse of stupitity
The excess pressure could rupture Dams below
What stupitity?

Anonymous and drought: how is it that you are such experts? You don't know what you're talking about.

Stupititity indeed. Rupturing of Hoover Dam from an incremental increase of inches, taking place over days? Gimme a break. If this can help conserve the wildlife along the Colorado River as it flows at the bottom of Grand Canyon, then it's a small price to pay.

I'm sure this has already been considered.

A similar "experiment" in 2004 has been mentioned several times, was it successful? It has never been stated whether the 2004 experiment achieved its goals. If it did, why the need for months of study following this experiment? And if it did not, why do the powers that be expect this time to be different? Albert Einstein is quoted as saying that a sure sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Please call Las Vegas when you have enough water in Lake Mead.

Do You people really think that the silt was going to build up to a point that it would fill the grand canyon? Do you think that sending a giant ball of mud down the canyon really helped the fish feel better? I'm betting that you did more damage to the fish population than good. What about the millions of people who could use this energy for power in a drought year? I think that you geriatric hippies need to find something constructive to do with your lives, instead of harrassing your fellow nonproducing bureaucrats into doing something this stupid. The people will finally rise up when you have put them in the dark and choked them into paying attention. You are wasting the talents you were blessed with.

Surf's up!

Stupidity would be believing that this could rupture dams below Glen Canyon!

Don't worry "Anonymous". The "excess" pressure will have no effect whatever on the dams below.

It's laughable (in an alarming way) to see how poorly some people understand the most basic laws of physics. In this case, the simplest principles of hydrostatics that have been around since at least the days of Archimedes. More than 2,000 year ago!

I have a sneaky suspicion that both “Anonymous” and “drought” are so annoyed by the fact that the dam is there at all, they have both lost what little claim to objectivity over this matter they might have ever had. Such is the nature of thoughtless zealotry.

Speaking of which. Another oddity about the hatred for Glen Canyon Dam is highlighted in this article. It refers to all the indication of ancient human activity as “archaeological sites”. The “loss” of similar sites beneath the waters of Lake Powell is often cited as reasons for removing the dam. Yet, in a few hundred or thousand years, the dam itself might be regarded as a valuable “archaeological site”. So, speaking on behalf of our descendents many years hence, I say, “How dare they consider removing such an historical (to future humanity) treasure?!”

While the necessity of this experiment can be debated, I hardly think that the safety of it can be. I mean really, people, do you actually think they would have done this if there was a danger of rupturing damns down stream? Please.

As a wildlife biologist, this was a very ecologically friendly move that has only positive impacts on fish and wildlife downstream. It does nothing to harm the interests of the american public except for a small few who have built their livley hood based upon the exsistance of the dam. Even still, there will be little impact to these trout outfitters business operations and in fact the fisheries that they depend on will improve because of the release.
Daming a river changes the hydrology, morphology, and biodiversity of the river downstream. If a two week release of high water flow will help restore some of those changes to bennefit several endangered fish species and bennefit recreation by creating beaches then it should be done.

My question is about the cost.

Where do I sign up?

I'll do it for 3.9 million and the thrill of watching my paper boat get creamed by a giant gush of water. I'll even provide my own paper.

You hve no idea what you are talking about. You have no idea how many millions of people depend on the water behind this dam for drinking and elctricity. There is a whole lot more at stake than a few fish but your view shows how people only see what they want to see. Read Steve above: They're not sure it will work for crying out loud.

It's good to see that in the middle of a 7 year drought we are more worried about the habitat of the chub than the needs of people.

Even before the dam was built, I guarantee that the river had many many low years due the fluctuations of mother nature.

I wonder if the motivation for this huge release is more Las Vegas complaining that Lake Mead is getting low, and less to save the habitat and animals in the canyon.

Experiment in 2004 = erosion PROBLEMS! The sand bars they were trying to repair were eroded away! The endangered fish and sport fish they were trying to help disappeared from sections of the river. Look at the water in the pictures...it's clear! To restore the sandbars muddy water would be needed, the kind that previously flowed from the Green River and Upper Colorado before it was all being depostied in Lake Powell. The old flows left the sediments that were collected in Northeast Utah and Western Colorado. That water now will do nothing but erode the beaches and sandbars again, just like in '04. What a waste of time and money! At least the water will help an already low Lake Mead, and Powell should still rebound about 40-50 feet this year! What happened to the lessons learned in the '04 "flood"? Why are we doing the same experiment if that one failed so badly?

This is a DIVERSION tactic! Bring attention to items downstream and deplete the water storage above the dam to insure the failure of the dam. Who ever said the water would rise "50 feet" because of the spring runoff must be joking!
We have been watching the water level lower for the last 10 or so years. This is a way to stop the pipeline to service southern Utah communities Way to go Engineers? LET THE WATER OUT TO MAKE THE LAKE LOWER??
THEY NOW WILL SAY �The water level in Lake Powell is too low to allow such a project�.
Again, we are being hoodwinked by the environmentalists to stop such an important venture for the future of the southern Utah/Nevada developments. As a downstream resident I think this kind of action should have been be pre-approved by the public it effects!!!
By the way has anyone seen any desert tortoise lately - we spent enough to protect them we should be stumbling over them all the way to Vegas!!

The water Lake Powell releases for the year will remain unchanged due to the experimental releases. Though releases in March will be higher releases in subsequent months will be lower to meet the year end releases.