Glen Canyon Dam Will Need $9 Million To Reline Outlet Works - Lowest-Elevation System To Pass Water Through The Dam

Water flows through Glen Canyon Dam's river outlet works. The pipes will undergo $9 million in repairs, but conservation groups want to see more permanent renovations at the dam, which holds back Lake Powell as Colorado River supplies shrink. Credit: Bureau of Reclamation

Federal water managers will repair a set of little-used pipes within Glen Canyon Dam after discovering damage earlier this year. The tubes, called river outlet works, have been a focus for Colorado River watchers in recent years. If Lake Powell falls much lower, they could be the only way to pass water from the nation’s second-largest reservoir to the 25 million people downstream of the dam. The Bureau of Reclamation will use $8.9 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to apply a new lining to all four pipes, which were originally coated more than 60 years ago. Conservation groups, however, say Reclamation should turn its attention and finances to bigger, longer-term fixes for the dam.

“Duct tape and baling wire won’t work in the long run,” said Kyle Roerink, executive director of the nonprofit Great Basin Water Network. “These short-term efforts are myopic in the grand scheme of things.” The river outlet works were originally designed to release excess water when the reservoir nears full capacity. Now, Lake Powell is facing a different problem: critically low water levels. After more than two decades of climate-change-fueled drought and steady demand, the reservoir is less than 40% full. It was only 22% full as recently as 2023.

Currently, water passes through hydroelectric generators inside Glen Canyon Dam before flowing into the Colorado River. Water experts fear that shrinking supplies and unsustainably heavy demand will keep sapping Lake Powell, bringing the top of the reservoir below the intakes for the generators.

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Bob Martin, who manages hydropower at Glen Canyon Dam, shows the effects of cavitation on a decommissioned turbine on Nov. 2, 2022. When air pockets enter the dam’s pipes, they cause structural damage. Similar damage is the focus of upcoming repairs. Credit: Alex Hager/KUNC

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Conservation groups are putting pressure on policymakers to rein in demand. Some environmental advocates are asking them to consider draining Lake Powell altogether and storing its water elsewhere. “We need to start planning for a river with less water,” said Eric Balken, executive director of the nonprofit Glen Canyon Institute. “That means drastically rethinking infrastructure that was built for a much bigger river. As climate change and overuse continue to put pressure on this river system, Glen Canyon Dam’s plumbing limitations will become more and more problematic.”

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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13092024/lake-powell-glen-canyon-dam-plumbing/