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There is a newly discovered damaged part of the dam holding back America's second-largest reservoir, and that has people who rely on the Colorado River worried about their ability to get the water they need. Alex Hager of member station KUNC reports.
ALEX HAGER, BYLINE: Glen Canyon Dam is a giant concrete monolith between towering walls of desert red rock in northern Arizona. And here, where the bottom of the dam meets the Colorado River, there are four huge pipes that have been getting a lot of attention. Bob Martin is the dam's hydropower manager.
BOB MARTIN: When these are turned on, like during a high-flow event, their water will shoot about three-quarters the way across the river here. It's amazing how far this water will shoot out.
HAGER: But now, with the reservoir behind the dam at a near record low due to climate change and steady demand, these pipes could be a lot more important. If Lake Powell continues to shrink, they may be the only way to get water out of it and into the Colorado River. Wayne Pullan is with the Federal Bureau of Reclamation, which runs the dam.
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WAYNE PULLAN: In nearly 60 years of operation in Glen Canyon Dam, we didn't need to address the issues that we're facing now.
HAGER: Water managers are now worried because of recently discovered damage inside those important tubes. It's caused by tiny air bubbles that pop so hard they can rip away chunks of pipe. Eric Balken is with the nonprofit Glen Canyon Institute.
ERIC BALKEN: This is a really big infrastructure problem, and it really has a big impact on how water is managed throughout this whole basin.
HAGER: Balken says the damaged pipes are only the latest challenge in managing the shrinking Colorado River. Lake Powell stores water from the river's upper basin. States there are legally obligated to send it downstream to California, Arizona and Nevada. Even if the pipes are fixed, he says, if they're the only way to get water out of the dam, they can't carry enough to meet that obligation.
BALKEN: I don't think decision-makers are seriously considering enough the fact that Glen Canyon Dam needs to be completely re-engineered.
HAGER: The dam itself remains structurally sound, but federal water managers plan to repair the pipes late this year or early next. They have not yet offered an estimate of how much it'll cost. But Zach Frankel, head of the Utah Rivers Council, says fixing them doesn't solve the problem and much bigger changes are needed.
ZACH FRANKEL: We have to stop pretending like we're in a short-term drought and reservoir levels are going to recover.
HAGER: Right now, states are renegotiating their agreement for sharing the Colorado River, and Frankel wants them to consider bypassing the dam altogether.
For NPR News, I'm Alex Hager.
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