As the Grand Canyon’s river is drying up a $50 million industry is going with it

Low flows down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon have created problems with the ecology of the river and commercial boating.

Flows have dropped significantly over the last year due to the worst snow drought on record this past winter and fewer releases from Glen Canyon Dam to help prop up Lake Powell.

“The Grand Canyon is one of the most iconic national parks in the country. It’s a destination for more than 7 million people a year. It’s a major economic driver for the state of Arizona,” Sinjin Eberle, senior director of regional communications at American Rivers, told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

Low flows put Grand Canyon’s boating industry on the rocks

Shortages down the Grand Canyon affect not only the ecology but also the boating industry.

Commercial boating on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon is a nearly $50 million-a-year industry.

“Those commercial operations that can make a full Grand Canyon trip in eight or nine days, those will be less possible if the river is so low,” Eberle said.

He also explained how invasive smallmouth bass have made their way into the Grand Canyon.

“In the 1980s, one guy with a truck dumped a bunch of smallmouth bass in Lake Powell,” Eberle said.

It wasn’t an issue when the water level was higher, but now “as the elevations of Lake Powell have come down, smallmouth bass have been sucked through the hydropower tubes and have been flushed into Grand Canyon,” Eberle said.

And now they’re breeding in the warm, shallow waters of the Grand Canyon.

As the water levels have declined at Horseshoe Bend and Lees Ferry, the water is warmer, leading to more algal blooms as well.

“It’s really important that the Grand Canyon’s ecological stability and sustainability is maintained. There’s endangered fish species. There are cultural connections to that place,” Eberle said.

He said the Grand Canyon is more than just a pipe that delivers water to millions across the Southwest. It’s an area of national and international significance.

“If you don’t take care of the river, the river can’t take care of everything else that it’s responsible for,” Eberle said.

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