Recreation and Power vs. the Environment :: Free Essays Online

Recreation and Power vs. the Environment The emptying of Lake Powell has now been an issue for years. The sierra club strongly supports the draining of the lake for environmental issues. One side of the debate argues for recreation, water and power supplied from the lake. The other argues for the saving of an environment that is now being destroyed by the existence of the lake. Both sides carry strong support, and the debate sees no clear end coming any time soon. Lake Powell was created in the 1950’s with the building of the Glen Canyon Dam, as part of the Colorado River Restoration Project. This dam was built to support a power plant to power parts of Northern Arizona and Southern Utah, and to ensure the steady water supply of the Colorado. It filled Glen Canyon with water. The lake now crosses into both states and is a recreation area for sightseers, cliff divers, swimmers, fisherman, and boaters. The making of the lake brought about the building of the city of Page, which raises 500 million dollars per year of tourism revenue. This man-made lake now delivers power and water to over 22 million people. But does this power come at a cost? Lake Powell has come as such a cost that does not prove worthwhile. Its draining will help to fix the ecosystem, and the state of the southwest. The water in Lake Powell is now dropping at an enormous rate. The rivers that feed the lake cannot sustain the levels they once had. The lake has dropped over 100 feet. Creating this lake made a water mass that was very susceptible to evaporation; it evaporates at a rate of a million and a half acre feet per year. This would be stopped with the draining of the lake, and letting the river be restored to its original state. With the making of the damn, very important fish and plant habitat was destroyed, some of these being important and endangered species. It also prevented the flow of fish to different part of the river, as there are now 11 dams along the rivers.