This canyon is now the basin of Lake Mead, the reservoir created behind Hoover dam. Why all the questions about the Upper Colorado River Storage Infrastructure? Did you know that both reservoirs (Powell and Mead) are declining in volume, due to drought, local fresh water needs and rights and the need to spill water to run hydroelectric turbines. It is estimated that Lake Mead's water lever will drop below spillway and power generation intake levels by 2020. Once this happens, as presently configured, water will no longer have any way to spill into the lower river, even though this low-water level is over 100' above the lower river level. Hoover dam will clot the river itself which will no longer flow below the dam. This would be catastrophic. If you're under 25, time to think about this and know what we face and what needs to be done to minimize the impact of such a problem.
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