- Thursday, 06 March 2014
- thenews.com.mx
U.S. and Mexican scientists announced on Tuesday that they are prepared to monitor the “pulse flow” of water that will be released from the Morelos Dam on the Colorado River on March 23.
Irrigation and dams on both sides of the border have prevented the Colorado River from regularly reaching the sea for more than 50 years, drying out the Colorado River Delta in the Gulf of California, destroying wetlands and threatening wildlife, including many threatened and endangered species.
In Nov. 2012, the Mexican and U.S. governments signed an agreement to release 130 million cubic meters (4.5 billion cubic feet) of fresh water from the river’s dams, which is designed to mimic the spring floods that were once seen on the Colorado River. The water will be released at a rate of 120 cubic meters per second for several days. This will be repeated several times over an eight-week period.
According to the terms of the bilateral agreement, the Colorado River Delta Restoration Fund will slowly release another 65 million cubic meters of water over the next five years as a base flow, which is designed complement the pulse flow and help preserve the delta’s ecosystems, particularly native trees.
Osvel Hinojosa Huerta, co-president of the Acta 319 environmental organization, said that scientists will monitor the effects of the pulse flow and study how the strategic release of water from the river’s dams can be used to restore the delta.
“We hope that 380 species of birds will benefit from the return of water to the Colorado River Delta, as well as the rural communities that have suffered from the lack of water in the region,” Hinojosa Huerta said.
“Today, about 80 percent of (the delta’s) wetland areas have been lost … Without the mix of freshwater and seawater, marine life lacks the crucial estuary haven needed to safely reproduce and rear young.”
THE NEWS
Irrigation and dams on both sides of the border have prevented the Colorado River from regularly reaching the sea for more than 50 years, drying out the Colorado River Delta in the Gulf of California, destroying wetlands and threatening wildlife, including many threatened and endangered species.
In Nov. 2012, the Mexican and U.S. governments signed an agreement to release 130 million cubic meters (4.5 billion cubic feet) of fresh water from the river’s dams, which is designed to mimic the spring floods that were once seen on the Colorado River. The water will be released at a rate of 120 cubic meters per second for several days. This will be repeated several times over an eight-week period.
According to the terms of the bilateral agreement, the Colorado River Delta Restoration Fund will slowly release another 65 million cubic meters of water over the next five years as a base flow, which is designed complement the pulse flow and help preserve the delta’s ecosystems, particularly native trees.
Osvel Hinojosa Huerta, co-president of the Acta 319 environmental organization, said that scientists will monitor the effects of the pulse flow and study how the strategic release of water from the river’s dams can be used to restore the delta.
“We hope that 380 species of birds will benefit from the return of water to the Colorado River Delta, as well as the rural communities that have suffered from the lack of water in the region,” Hinojosa Huerta said.
“Today, about 80 percent of (the delta’s) wetland areas have been lost … Without the mix of freshwater and seawater, marine life lacks the crucial estuary haven needed to safely reproduce and rear young.”
THE NEWS
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