BOULDER CITY, Nev. — The Bureau of Reclamation will reduce releases from Davis Dam on Thursday, August 27, and Thursday, September 10, as part of an experimental pilot program to decrease the local caddisfly population, a nuisance to local recreation, businesses and visitors to the area.
Hourly releases at Davis Dam, north of Laughlin, Nevada, will be reduced to approximately 2,000 cubic feet per second beginning at 6:00 a.m. MST and continue throughout the remainder of the day. During this time, the water levels below Davis Dam will drop, drying out the banks of the river channel in hopes of desiccating caddisfly larvae and pupae.
The decision to conduct these experiments was based on input and recommendations from a collaborative team of scientists, federal reservoir operators and the business community in Laughlin, Nevada and Bullhead City, Arizona.
The experiments are designed to maximize benefits to Colorado River communities, while taking into consideration water delivery requirements and impacts to hydropower production and local recreation.
Access to the Colorado River below Davis Dam will be limited and extra caution should be exercised while using the river during this time. All river users should be aware that these lower than normal river flows may expose or create natural hazards such as sandbars, gravel bars, unstable riverbanks, floating or submerged debris or other unfamiliar obstacles.
Planned operations may change depending on operational or environmental conditions. Daily and hourly information on releases from Reclamation’s Colorado River dams is available on Reclamation’s web site, at https://www.usbr.gov/lc/riverops.html.
Davis Dam and Parker Dam projected water release schedules can be found at https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/hourly/DavisParkerSchedules.pdf.
