TEMPERATURE

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Water Temperature below Glen Canyon Dam Prior to completion of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, the temperature of water flowing through the Grand Canyon each year was highly variable, ranging from the icy, spring run-off to the warm, 85-degree summer-heated flows. However, once the dam was constructed, the temperature of the water released from the dam - drawn from the depths of Lake Powell and released through the dam's penstock intakes - ranged for many years between 45 and 50 F (7 to 10 C). With the lowering of Lake Powell, release temperatures have been increased to as high as 59 F (15 C) which has likely led to an increase in the humpback chub and other native fish populations in Grand Canyon. These increases in temperature, however, also increase the risk of expanding the distribution and abundance of cool/warm-water nonnative fish like brown trout, green sunfish, smallmouth bass, and walleye which could have a devastating impact on the humpback chub population in Grand Canyon like they have on humpback chub and other native fish populations in the Upper Basin.

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Updates The timing of seasonally warm release temperatures and high summer air temperatures have a large influence on downstream river temperatures. The warmest release temperatures occur in late October/early November but the greatest potential of warming the river in Grand Canyon occurs in July and September when air temperatures are the hottest. The reason is that it takes a lot longer to warm all the water in Lake Powell vs the water in the river as it flows downstream through the canyon. Another thing to note that during the winter, river temperatures actually cool with distance downstream because releases are actually warmer than ambient air temperatures. Increasing Water Temperatures at the Little Colorado River Confluence (RM 61), 1990-2015 Forebay temperature 2000-2016 [1]

Links and Information Temperature Learning Page Near Shore Ecology (NSE) Study of the fall steady flow test The Low Summer Flow Experiment (LSF) Page TCD Learning Page GCDAMP TCD Page Reclamation TCD Page Temperature Gages Colorado River at Lees Ferry Colorado River at 30 mile Colorado River above LCR Little Colorado River abv mouth nr Desert View, AZ Bright Angel Creek Colorado River abv Lava Canyon rm66 Colorado River bl rm127 Kanab Creek Havasu Creek Colorado River abv National Canyon Colorado River bl Diamond Creek Colorado River abv Spencer rm246 Papers and presentations 2018 Dibble et al., 2018, Warm water temperatures and shifts in seasonality increase trout recruitment but only moderately decrease adult size in western North American tailwaters: Environmental Biology of Fishes Temperature and nutrients as ecosystem drivers in the Colorado River PPT, Lake Powell as a regulator of temperature and Lake Powell as a regulator of nutrients PPT 2017 Water Quality in Lake Powell and Its Influence on the Colorado River Below Glen Canyon Dam PPT Pine et al. Growth of Endangered Humpback Chub in Relation to Temperature and Discharge in the Lower Colorado River. USU Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications February 2017 Glen Canyon Monthly Operational Coordination Call 2013 Ross et al., 2013, Nearshore thermal gradients of the Colorado River near the Little Colorado River confluence, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report Nearshore Temperature Findings for the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona—Possible Implications for Native Fish Results of Early Temperature Analyses of the Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan EIS Effects of Water Temperature on Predation Vulnerability of Humpback Chub 2012 Flow Temp Turbidity Effects of Temperature on Native Fish 2010 Selective withdrawal and sediment augmentation update Incorporating thermal regimes into environmental flows assessments: modifying dam operations to restore freshwater ecosystem integrity by Julian D. Olden and Robert J. Naiman (University of Washington, Seattle) Temperature Control Device and Sediment Augmentation Report TWG Chair Temperature Control Device/Sediment Augmentation Sediment and Temperature Modeling Update PPT as presented at January 2010 Annual Reporting Meeting AIF: Temperature Control Device and Sediment Augmentation and PPT 2009 Selective Withdrawal and Sediment Augmentation Update PPT Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center Updates AIF: Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) Update 2007 Anderson and Wright. 2007. Development and application of a water temperature model for the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona. Hydrological Science and Technology, V 23, No 1-4. Other Stuff Fish occupying warmer water have higher metabolic demands than individuals in cooler water, and if these demands increase concurrently with a seasonal decline in prey availability, then growth rates may be reduced. [2]