Coyote Gulch was lucky enough to get a tour of Hoover Dam on December 14, 2019. Thanks so much to the Bureau of Reclamation folks for arranging the tour. Here’s a photo gallery.
Hoover Dam from the Arizona Powerhouse deck December 13, 2019. As John Fleck said in a Tweet, “Friends who have the keys showed us around this afternoon.” Thanks USBR.
One of Lake Mead’s spillways the last time water lapped at the top of the spillway was 1999.
Face of Hoover Dam from the access highway.
Emergency spillway which utilizes the bypass tunnel from construction. Biggest spill came in 1983 when water was ~5′ above the raised gate.
Downslope to the bypass tunnel.
Intake towers for power generation at Hoover Dam December 13, 2019.
Looking down from the top of Hoover Dam.
Face of Hoover Dam looking towards Arizona.
Looking down on the power plants from the top of Hoover Dam.
Access tunnel inside Hoover Dam. Mark Cook, our host, on the right.
The Hoover Dam Arizona power plant turbines.
Beautiful tile work at the Arizona power plant in Hoover Dam. Elements of Native American art and industrial influences.
Operation of the Colorado River’s second largest reservoir, Lake Powell in southern Utah and northern Arizona, will be a major piece of negotiations on the river set to start next December. Hoover Dam from the deck of the Arizona power plant December 13, 2019.
Coyote Gulch on the Arizona power plant deck in a borrowed hard hat.
Looking downstream from the base of Hoover Dam. Concrete structure in the center of the photo is the outlet for the Nevada side emergency spillway.
Looking across the Colorado River at the Nevada side from the Arizona side.
Transformers and deck on the Arizona side.
Looking up at the cable system used to drop large vehicles and equipment that cannot be moved in using the access road.
3-phase(?) circuit breaker for the Arizona powerhouse.
Coyote Gulch in a borrowed hard hat on the deck of the Arizona powerhouse at Hoover Dam on December 13. 2019.
View towards the base of Hoover Dam. The rail system is used to move large equipment.
Highway bridge from the base of Hoover Dam.
Terminus of the access road at Hoover Dam.
Arizona/Nevada border marker at the base of Hoover Dam.
Tower with sculptures of the purpose of Hoover Dam. I love the navigation purpose. Elevator to the interior of the dam is located here.
Hoover Dam schematic via the Bureau of Reclamation.
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said he asked the Bureau of Reclamation to start the review at the beginning of 2020, rather than by the end of 2020, which is the deadline under the existing agreement.
The bureauās officials will examine how the 2007 guidelines have worked as the agency prepares for negotiations among the seven states on a new set of rules that will take effect after 2026.
āIt makes sense to review how well something worked before determining its replacement,ā Bernhardt said Friday during a speech at a Colorado River conference in Las Vegas. āWe think that starting now and not waiting until the deadline a year from now makes sense.ā
[…]
David Bernhardt answers a question about climate change from Luke Runyon, December 13, 2019, Colorado River Water Users Association Annual Conference.
Climate change, energy development
He didnāt mention the words climate change during his speech at the conference. But during a press conference afterward, reporters asked Bernhardt about the role of climate change.
āI certainly believe the climate is changing,ā Bernhardt said. āI spend a lot of time with our scientists, and I spend a lot of time with our models. And you know, what the scientists tell me is that the best thing we can do is make sure that if we’re using a model, we use multiple models and multiple ranges within each model. And so that’s what I’ve insisted on when we’re looking forward to the future.ā
In projecting the riverās flows into the future, he said, āwe absolutely follow best practices all the time.ā
President Donald Trumpās administration has begun pulling out of the landmark Paris climate agreement, and has promoted oil and gas drilling.
In California, the Trump administration is moving forward with a plan that could open up about 1.2 million acres to new oil and gas drilling. When asked about environmental groupsā opposition to the plan, Bernhardt said: āWe have really strong policy guidance and laws that say that we’re supposed to develop energy, and we will develop energy responsibly.ā
Before joining the Trump administration, Bernhardt worked as a lobbyist for the oil and gas industry in the West.
āThe president was very clear when he ran for office on his position on energy. He’s for an all-of-the-above approach,ā Bernhardt said. He pointed out that oil development on federal lands has generated revenues in New Mexico for schools and other state programs.
āAnd so, when people tell me that they want to stop oil and gas development on federal lands, I say call the governor of New Mexico,ā Bernhardt said.
A ‘disconnect’ in Trump policies
John Fleck, director of the University of New Mexicoās Water Resources Program, said Bernhardtās comments reflect a dichotomy within the federal government in which officials are taking steps on climate adaptation but not on combating planet-warming emissions.
On the one hand, water managers at the Bureau of Reclamation are working with scientists and using climate models to assess risks and project the river flows into the future, Fleck said.
āTheyāre absolutely taking climate change seriously. Itās built into the modeling work theyāre doing,ā Fleck said. āYou donāt find water managers doubting the reality of human-caused climate change and its effects. Theyāre seeing it in the flow in their systems, and theyāre dealing with it.ā
On the other hand, he said, there is a ādisconnectā in that the Trump administration isnāt taking steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
āSo that increases our risk,ā Fleck said. āThatās a problem because we need to reduce greenhouse gases to mitigate the effects on the Colorado River.ā
One of Lake Mead’s spillways the last time water lapped at the top of the spillway was 1999.
Bernhardt said the governmentās review will focus on āwhat’s worked, what’s not worked.ā He said that will include looking at lessons as the water cutbacks kick in next year under the drought deal.
Bernhardt said while the Colorado River Basin faces growing challenges, he is optimistic that parties across the region will continue working together to solve problems.
āWe have a legacy here of states cooperating in a way that is absolutely incredible,ā he said.