Glen Canyon Dam
SCM 1002 urges the United State Congress to oppose any attempt to remove the Glen Canyon Dam or to drain Lake Powell.
In 1922, the seven Basin states, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, California, Nevada and Arizona, ratified the Colorado River Compact, an agreement to divide the waters of the Colorado River between the states. Water developments, such as dams and power plants, along the Colorado River are the product of this agreement. The Glen Canyon Dam was authorized by the United States Congress in 1956 by the Colorado River Storage Project Act to fulfill the provisions of the Colorado River Compact and to provide water storage in the Upper Colorado River Basin.
Construction of the Dam began in 1956 and was completed in 1963. The Glen Canyon Dam is 710 feet high with a total capacity of 27 million acre-feet. The result of the Glen Canyon Dam is Lake Powell, which is 186 miles long with a surface area of 161,390 acres. Water flowing into Lake Powell is derived primarily from snowmelt from the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. Allocation of water to the Lower Basin states (California, Nevada and Arizona) is ensured by the release of water from the Dam.