December 5, 1997

Lynn L. Clark

Dear Lynn:

Thank you for contacting me to express your views regarding the proposal to drain Lake Powell. I agree that such an action would have a devastating impact on the region, with detrimental effects to the environment, economy, flood control, water supply, power generation, and recreation.

I wish to emphasize that any action to drain Lake Powell would require an Act of Congress. Current operations of Glen Canyon Dam are in compliance with the Colorado River Basin Project Act of 1968. The Bureau of Reclamation and other federal agencies do not have the current authority to drain the lake, nor has any federal agency recommended that such action-occur.

As far as Congress is concerned, there has been no vote on the proposal and none are currently planned. The U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittees on National Parks, Forests, and Lands; and Water and Power Resources conducted a joint hearing on September 24, 1997 to review the proposal. After the Hearing, members of the Subcommittees were very critical of the proposal and indicated that no legislation to drain Lake Powell would be proposed by the Subcommittees.

To achieve the legal public and private water requirements downstream of Lake Powell, 75 million acre feet of water must be provided during any 10-year period. According to data from the Bureau of Reclamation, the storage capacities of both Lake Powell and Lake Mead are critical to providing the needed levels of water. The Bureau has indicated that consumptive demands in the Colorado River lower basin cannot be handled by Lake Mead alone. In Arizona, Colorado River water is needed to sustain public demand and to curtail the depletion of our valuable groundwater resources.

Without the power generation from Glen Canyon Dam, 3,500 gigawatt-hours of electricity would be lost to a substantial portion of the West. Hydropower is one of the cheapest and cleanest sources of power, and any lost power generation from Glen Canyon Dam would have to be replaced with other sources, such as fossil-fuel burning plants.

From an economical and recreational perspective, 2.5 million people visit Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and spend $3.5 million annually. In addition to the recreational activities on Lake Powell, fisheries and downstream river rafting through the Grand Canyon would be lost or severely impacted.

The negative impacts associated with draining Lake Powell are numerous and severe. Although no action has been initiated in Congress, please be assured that I will continue to monitor this proposal and the future of the' Lake. If needed, I will take any steps necessary to prevent the destruction of this invaluable resource. Again, thank you for contacting me to express your views on this matter.

Sincerely,

John McCain
United States Senator

For more information contact. friends@lakepowell.org