OFFICIALS WILL NOT RELEASE COOL WATER FROM A COLORADO RIVER RESERVOIR TO PROTECT THREATENED FISH

Federal officials announced on Thursday that they will not release the cool water from Glen Canyon Dam this year, a move that would have protected the threatened humpback chub fish downstream but would have further strained hydropower production on the Colorado River.

According to an email the Bureau of Reclamation sent to several groups, the decision was made because of "significant hydropower generation concerns under already strained system conditions." The email, obtained by the Associated Press, explains that the release of water would have helped a native fish species but at the expense of electricity generation. The choice comes after the basin recorded its worst snowpack on record, adding pressure to an already shrinking river system that is already overused by farmers, industries, wildlife and more than 40 million people.

The Colorado River is a critical source of water and power for seven U.S. states, tribal nations and Mexico, and decisions about water releases directly affect both human and ecological communities. The humpback chub is listed as threatened, making its protection a priority for conservation groups, while hydropower plants rely on the reservoir to generate electricity for ratepayers.

• Bureau of Reclamation will not release cool water from Glen Canyon Dam to aid the threatened humpback chub.
• The decision cites hydropower generation concerns amid strained system conditions.
• It follows record-low snowpack and shrinking reservoirs due to overuse and climate change.

Read the original source for full detail available at Associated Press src