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Satellite photos show the Colorado River before and after the Bureau of Reclamation released a huge outflow of water from the Glen Canyon dam, raising water levels in the river.
Glen Canyon Dam forms Lake Powell, the huge Colorado River reservoir which lies between Arizona and Utah. Paired with Lake Mead, the reservoirs provide water for about 40 million people.
Following an extremely wet winter, the Bureau of Reclamation carried out a High Flow Experiment (HFE) between April 24 and 27, releasing up to 39,500 cubic feet per second of water from the Glen Canyon Dam. That's a lot higher than usual. Usually, water volumes released from the dam range from 8,033 to 14,631 cubic feet per second.
The initiative helped replenish sandbars and beaches all down the Grand Canyon, carrying sediment down to these areas. The water also flowed all the way down to Lake Mead, replenishing its water levels slightly.
Satellite photographs shared by the NASA Earth Observatory show the flow from Glen Canyon Dam before and after the experiment.
In one photo taken after the experiment on April 27, water can be seen surging from the dam and through the Colorado River towards Horseshoe Bend and Marble Canyon.
In another image taken on April 19, the same area can be seen without the surge of water.
Although there are small differences between the two photographs, edges of the Colorado River appear more full following the experiment.
"Most of the changes visible in the river are due to higher water levels associated with the high-flow experiment," a release from the NASA Earth Observatory said.
The National Park Service said the experiment was "designed to move accumulated sediment from the Paria River up onto beaches and sandbars in Marble Canyon and eastern Grand Canyon to restore the Colorado River corridor in eastern Grand Canyon National Park. Sandbars serve as camping beaches for recreationists, while also supplying sand needed to protect archaeological sites."
Sediment is important to the ecosystem on the Colorado River. Since the Glen Canyon Dam was constructed in the 1960s however, the amount of sediment carried by the Colorado River has gone down by around 95 percent, Paul Grams, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, told NASA Earth Observatory.
Before the experiment on April 19, Lake Mead's water levels stood at 1,047 feet. Water levels now stand slightly higher, at 1,051 feet as of May 12.
Lake Powell's water levels declined slightly during the experiment by 4 feet, however it should not cause a net change in its levels overall, the Observatory reported.
The experiment was only carried out because of the extremely high snowpack levels seen this year.
The southwestern U.S., which has been gripped by a severe drought for decades, has received a rare influx of rain and snowfall over the past few months.
This has meant that there is a high amount of snowpack flowing from the mountains, which is good news for the region's reservoirs. However experts have warned it will only provide a short-term solution to the drought-stricken area.
Both Lake Powell and Lake Mead have seen extremely low water levels in recent years.
In summer 2022, Lake Mead reached an all time low of 1,040 feet. Lake Powell also reached a low of 3,521.77 feet in February.
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About the writer
Robyn White is a Newsweek Nature Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on wildlife, science and the ... Read more
