Thank you
very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, my name is Adam Werbach, and I am the President of the Sierra Club. I thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.
I
represent the Sierra Club's 600,000 members across America in supporting the restoration of one of the most special places on earth, Glen Canyon, for our families and for our future.
Last November, the
Sierra Club's national board of directors voted unanimously to advocate the draining of the Lake Powell Reservoir. This might have surprised some people, but it was a natural decision for the Sierra Club.
The Sierra Club has been protecting unique natural resources throughout the Colorado River basin for the last 50 years. Throughout our history, we have urged protection of the Green and Yampa Rivers and Dinosaur
National Monument, the Animas River in Colorado. And we have always stood for the river canyons along the Colorado.
Flooding Glen Canyon was never a good idea. And the Sierra Club never thought that it was.
But we had no idea how wrong it was at the time it was proposed. David Brower, who could not be here today because of health problems with his wife, Anne, called Glen Canyon the place that no one knew.
While the canyons of Dinosaur National Monuments were world famous, only a few people had experienced the transcendent natural majesty of Glen Canyon. Few people had rafted its waters. Few people had explored its
mysterious side canyons. Few people experienced Glen Canyon's quite soulful magic.
Those who did experience Glen Canyon were lucky. I regret that I was born too late to see one of God's masterpieces. I hope
my children will have that chance.
The sense of remorse spreads beyond the Sierra Club. Former Senator Barry Goldwater recently reflected in the PBS documentary ''Cadillac Desert'' that, quote, ''I'd vote
against it. I have become convinced that, while water is important, it's just not that important,'' end quote.
We are simply not being good stewards of the river. By inundating Glen Canyon, we have
eliminated some of the most productive habitat for native Colorado fish, many of which have been smothered forever from the face of this earth. The remaining species hang on as isolated and aging populations in only a
few places along the river.
The Colorado River Compact promises more water to the basin States and to Mexico than what nature provides. And most of that water goes to water plants, not people. Many of these
plants, like cotton, are not native to the desert, are heavy water users, and would not be grown at all if their cultivation was not supported by a complex web of tax breaks, subsidies, and Federal price supports.
Perhaps most appalling is that the Grand Canyon is suffering from the effects of Glen Canyon Dam. This dam has turned its water—its warm water native fish habitats cold, cutoff the supply of sediments needed
to rebuild its beaches and shorelines, and prevented the cleansing seasonal floods.
We have only a short window of time to act to protect the native species of the Grand Canyon that are on the verge of
extinction. Let us not be known as the generation that sacrificed the Grand Canyon.
In the not-too-distant future, Lake Powell, like all reservoirs, will be rendered useless for water storage and power by
incoming silt. Between seepage into the canyon walls around Lake Powell and evaporation from this vast, flat high-elevation reservoir located in one of the driest areas in the country, water loss is estimated at almost
one million acre feet of water per year according to the Bureau of Reclamation, enough for a city the size of Los Angeles. This is no way to run a river. And it's not the legacy to leave for our children.
Now, there is good news. Changes are possible without massive shortfalls in water or power. I would like to submit to the hearing record a study just completed by the Environmental Defense Fund entitled, ''The Effect of
Draining Lake Powell on Water Supply and Electricity Production.''
Now, EDF used the Bureau of Reclamation's own hydrologic model for managing the Colorado River to assess the impacts of the river system
with and without Lake Powell and even assumed growth in water use through the year 2050. The analysis shows that, quote: ''On average, the drained Lake Powell scenario reduces deliveries to the lower basin by only
91,000 acre feet per year, approximately 1.15 percent of all lower basin deliveries. The Colorado River's ability to meet upper basin obligations does not depend on whether Lake Powell is drained.''
Regarding hydropower, EDF finds that most, quote, ''most power users in the Southwest would not be affected,'' end quote. And the estimated cost to all Americans of restoring Glen Canyon by foregoing power revenues from
the dam is only 37 cents a piece per year, a bargain for what we would get back.
EDF concludes that, quote: ''A comprehensive study of all effects of the proposal to drain Lake Powell is clearly warranted.''
We believe that these preliminary analyses show that draining Lake Powell is possible without major dislocations, that it's affordable, and that it's not too late to consider this option.
The
power generation loss from Glen Canyon Dam can be replaced by natural gas or conservation elsewhere. And the cost spread over the rate base of the western power grade should not be prohibitive.
Today,
society is reevaluating our past fascination with dams. Congress has directed that the Elwa Dam in Washington State be removed to restore the rivers. Reservoirs in the Colombia and Snake River basins are being proposed
for drawdown to restore salmon runs. Glen Canyon Dam itself has been re-regulated by 1992 legislation.
The Sierra Club supports evaluating the tradeoffs and opportunities of draining Lake Powell through an
environment assessment. We urge the administration to undertake this review. Regardless of where you stand on this issue, it clearly makes sense to examine the facts. The fate of the Grand Canyons is at stake. Our goal
is to make the place no one knew the place that everyone knows about. We believe that the American public would choose in favor of Glen Canyon. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for beginning this conversation.
