Glen Canyon Dam was built primarily to store excess Colorado River water during wet years, so it could be released during dry spells and used to generate power. Now, with aridification depriving the river of those excess flows, both functions are imperiled. In April, Lake Powell fell perilously close to the point at which dam operators would have to stop sending water through the turbines, depriving the grid of enough electricity to power about a quarter of a million homes annually. It would also drain between $100 million and $200 million annually from dam electricity sales, some of which helps fund endangered species recovery, salinity control and water studies on the Colorado River. Officials have released extra water from upstream dams and are currently letting less of it flow through Glen Canyon Dam, raising water levels just enough to keep the turbines spinning. —Jonathan Thompson
-
Glen Canyon workers are reflected in the windows surrounding the hydropower turbines. -
Electrician Ray Dugi bikes into the dam’s machine shop; employees use bike toolboxes to get around the huge power plant. Dugi has worked at the dam for 25 years. -
Pieces of a permanent magnet generator from one of the turbines. -
Arlo Ketchum, a power plant electrician, works on the PMG (permanent magnet generator) from one of the turbines. The PMG is the “brain” of the machine, communicating with the other turbine components. Much of the plant’s technology is unchanged since it was built in 1964, so replacement parts can be hard to find and must often be refurbished or replicated by staff.
Luna Anna Archey is HCN’s associate photo editor. She lives in Paonia, Colorado. Follow @la_archey
We welcome reader letters. Email Luna at luna@hcn.org or submit a letter to the editor. See our letters to the editor policy.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline As Lake Powell levels drop, see inside Glen Canyon Dam.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
