(October19) NEEDLES—Three factors have combined to result in significant reductions in the release of Colorado River water from Davis Dam north of Bullhead City.
Reduced water releases will result in lower than normal river water levels along a span of the river abutting San Bernardino County, and boaters below the Hoover and Davis dams are advised to exercise extra caution during this period of reduced river flows as sandbars, boulders and gravel will be exposed, creating hazardous and potentially deadly river conditions.
A break in the Central Arizona Project canal near Bouse, Arizona, approximately 50 miles southeast of Lake Havasu City, is a major contributory factor in the water level reduction. The Bureau of Reclamation is reducing releases from Hoover Dam, creating flow conditions that are atypically lower than those experienced at this time of year. There is also a decrease in demand at present for water downstream.
The reduction from Davis Dam will result in peak flows dropping from what is categorized as a four-unit flow, roughly 19,000 cubic feet per second, to no higher than a two-unit flow, or 9,200 cubic feet per second. The two-unit change in flow will result in an approximately four-foot drop in the river’s depth below Davis Dam.