{"id":10059,"date":"2026-08-08T10:16:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:16:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=10059"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:16:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:16:43","slug":"colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback-chub-and-cool-releases-bypass-dam-turbines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=10059","title":{"rendered":"Colorado River officials face a fish-versus-power tradeoff as warmer water threatens native humpback chub and cool releases bypass dam turbines"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-133049269,imgsize-121711,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback-chub-and-cool-releases-bypass-dam-turbines.jpg\" alt=\"Colorado River officials face a fish-versus-power tradeoff as warmer water threatens native humpback chub and cool releases bypass dam turbines\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Federal officials said on Thursday that they will not release cool water this year from Colorado River&#8217;s major reservoirs. This water would have protected a threatened native fish downstream, but put more strain on already struggling hydropower production.<!-- --> In an email obtained by The Associated Press, the Bureau of Reclamation told various groups that water from Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona would not be released \u201cdue to significant hydropower generation concerns under already strained system conditions.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"3\"\/>As the Colorado River and its once-massive reservoirs shrink from overuse and climate change, officials have faced a decision that pits the conservation of the humpback chub, a threatened fish native to the river, against electricity costs for ratepayers.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"7\"\/>The situation comes after the worst snowpack on record for the Colorado River basin, relied upon by farmers, industries, wildlife, hydropower and more than 40 million people in seven American states, tribal nations and Mexico. It also comes a week after federal officials announced a proposal to stave off a crisis in the beleaguered waterway.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"9\"\/>Officials stepped in after states that rely on the river, California, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah, failed to reach an agreement on how to share the dwindling resource long-term. Under the proposal, California, Nevada and Arizona would share water cuts.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"13\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>For the humpback chubs<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/><\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"For the humpback chubs&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\" msid=\"133049291\" width=\"\" title=\"According to officials, cool water releases from Lake Powell in 2024 and 2025 successfully prevented smallmouth bass spawning.\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" imgsize=\"\" resizemode=\"4\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-133049291\/for-the-humpback-chubsbrbr.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>According to officials, cool water releases from Lake Powell in 2024 and 2025 successfully prevented smallmouth bass spawning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"17\"\/>A \u201ccool mix flow\u201d is when cold water is released from deep in a reservoir, in this case Lake Powell, to cool the river below. There are no hydropower turbines in the cool, deep section, so significant power generation would have been lost. Lake Powell is about 23% full after decades of overuse and evaporation of water as average temperatures rise because of climate change. <!-- -->With such a low reservoir, warm water near the surface gets sucked through the generators and sent downstream.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"21\"\/>Smallmouth bass, introduced in Lake Powell in the 1980s for sport fishing, live at that warm surface and also get sucked through the hydropower generators and into the river below, and if it\u2019s warm enough, they spawn. This poses a problem for the humpback chub and other federally protected fish farther south on the river. <!-- -->According to officials, cool water releases from Lake Powell in 2024 and 2025 successfully prevented smallmouth bass spawning.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"25\"\/>The river downstream of the dam is about 69 degrees Fahrenheit (20.5 degrees Celsius). The Bureau says it considers recommending cold water releases when the average daily temperature there exceeds about 60 F (15.5 C) for three consecutive days. Those temperatures have regularly exceeded that threshold for more than a month.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"28\"\/>\u201cOur efforts this year will continue to focus on expanded rapid response removal actions, additional backwater modifications, evaluation of innovative tools, and advancement of durable structural solutions,\u201d wrote Wayne G. Pullan, the agency\u2019s regional director of the Upper Colorado Basin, in the email.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"30\"\/>Matt Rice, director for the southwest region for the conservation group American Rivers, said the decision was not unexpected but still disappointing. <!-- -->\u201cWe\u2019ve proven that the cool mix flows are the most effective way to mitigate the smallmouth bass invasion in the Grand Canyon,\u201d he said. \u201cHopefully it\u2019s not a death sentence to humpback chub.\u201d He added that the elevated temperatures are also life-threatening for the nearby rainbow trout fishery.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"35\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>For the future<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"37\"\/><\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"For the future&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;\" msid=\"133049302\" width=\"\" title=\"Releases would have forced them to spend millions of dollars to buy alternative energy \" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" imgsize=\"\" resizemode=\"4\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-133049302\/for-the-futurebrbr.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Releases would have forced them to spend millions of dollars to buy alternative energy <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"39\"\/>Rice said American Rivers hopes for collaborative and innovative solutions in the future that balance protecting the environment while managing the river for the people who rely on it for power. <!-- -->Utilities that buy hydropower from Glen Canyon Dam said releases would have forced them to spend millions of dollars to buy alternative energy that is more costly and less likely to be renewable, and could increase electricity bills for customers.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"43\"\/>\u201cWe\u2019re very pleased with the decision and appreciate Reclamation\u2019s deliberate and thoughtful approach to this, just recognising the challenges that we\u2019re facing on the river,\u201d said Andy Colosimo, executive director of the Colorado River Energy Distributors Association, which represents about 155 customers who buy federal hydropower generated from the river. \u201cI think this was the right call, given the conditions that we\u2019re all facing.<!-- -->\u201d<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/us\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback-chub-and-cool-releases-bypass-dam-turbines\/articleshow\/133049127.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Federal officials said on Thursday that they will not release cool water this year from Colorado River&#8217;s major reservoirs. This water would have protected a threatened native fish downstream, but put more strain on already struggling hydropower production. In an email obtained by The Associated Press, the Bureau of Reclamation told various groups that water [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback-150x150.avif","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback-300x169.avif","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback.avif","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback.avif","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback.avif","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback.avif","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback.avif","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback.avif","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback.avif","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback.avif","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback.avif","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback.avif","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback.avif","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback.avif"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Federal officials said on Thursday that they will not release cool water this year from Colorado River&#8217;s major reservoirs. This water would have protected a threatened native fish downstream, but put more strain on already struggling hydropower production. In an email obtained by The Associated Press, the Bureau of Reclamation told various groups that water [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":2,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":4,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback.avif",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback-300x169.avif",300,169,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/colorado-river-officials-face-a-fish-versus-power-tradeoff-as-warmer-water-threatens-native-humpback-150x150.avif",150,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}