Lake Powell Controversy

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Mother Natures “Time Share”
Lake Powell is a family resort for many. Every year at least two million people enjoy its splendor. But I would assume they do not know the trouble that lies beneath. Lake Powell was voted in by a small margin in March, 1956. It was part of the Colorado River Storage Project, also known as CRSP. Ever since it’s beginning, some of the people who helped build the dam have had regrets for what has been done to the canyon. Lake Powell has spurred controversy since its beginning on many issues: environmental problems, water rights, and the energy it generates. But the reservoir has its good points as well. There have been many jobs created and a thriving tourist market that have been the …show more content…

This organization allocated the resources of the Colorado River and its tributaries. The Upper Basin States (Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming) realized that the Colorado River Compact had overestimated the river’s annual flow and wanted to guarantee their water rights. The only way the Upper Basin states saw fit to ensure their water was to literally hold onto their water in reservoirs.
1956 brought the beginning of the Glen Canyon dam. But Glen Canyon was not the only site that was being considered as a possible site for the reservoir. Echo Park, in Dinosaur National Monument was another option that was being discussed by the Bureau of Reclamation. The Sierra Club was fighting to keep both dams from being built. In the end they had the choice and traded Glen Canyon for Echo Park (Ritchey).
June of 1960 brought the beginning of the dam. Five million yards of concrete were poured into the canyon over the period of two years. The construction did not stop until the dam was complete in September of 1962. After Glen Canyon Dam was completed, and to this day, it stands 710 feet with an average water depth of 560 feet when the reservoir is full. The dam stops water for one 186 miles up stream, creating 2,200 miles of shore line …show more content…

Glen Canyon Dam generates 1,300 mega watts of electricity when it is fully operational. That is enough electricity for 350,000 homes. But is that a relevant fact since the government is decommissioning four major dams on the Snake River, which provided 2.5 times the electricity the dam does at full capacity? No. Glen Canyon Dam provides electricity for six states around itself, but out of those six states it only supplies about three percent of their total power (Living). So often the thought of a dam is electricity, but as we have seen, Lake Powell clearly is more useful in providing

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