Pulse Flow Reconnects Colorado River to the Sea

Zak Podmore paddles into the intertidal zone near the mouth of the Colorado River, May 9, 2014

(photo: Jeff Moag/Canoe & Kayak Magazine)

Colorado River Delta -  American Whitewater is working everyday to ensure that water remains in the upper reaches of the Colorado River, keeping runs flowing like Gore Canyon, Shoshone, Westwater and Cataract Canyons. On tributaries of the Colorado River - places like the Gila River, Desolation Canyon, the Dolores, or the Yampa - we're working to improve access and land protections and preserve flows so that the communities that depend on these natural assetts, can do so well into the future. Across the Colorado River basin, AW is working on projects big and small that, when added together, contribute to a large and successful river stewardship project.

On each of our projects, we work with many of our members, friends and allies to protect and restore thousands of miles of rivers in the Colorado basin. We would like to recognize their success in helping create last month’s big news on the Colorado River – the return of water to the desiccated Delta. The Colorado River hasn’t flowed regularly to the sea since the 1960’s, but today that is all changing. With last month’s release of a pulse flow, the result of years of hard work by many conservationists and government folks alike, water is returning to the Delta and nourishing the people and natural systems who have gone without for so long. For the first time in decades, the River has reached all the way to the sea. And that’s good news for everyone.

Last week, AW member Zak Podmore and Canoe and Kayak’s Jeff Moag were in the desert to paddle the Pulse Flow through the Delta all the way to the Gulf of California.  Their beautiful footage tells the story. Here at AW, we’re proud of the work of our colleagues to restore the Delta, and we are actively working to ensure that streamflows are protected from the headwaters to the sea. Not ony in the Colorado River basin but across the country, AW is working every day to find solutions that bring water back to dry rivers.

Rivers are the lifeblood of community, of healthy outdoor recreation, and of course of ecosystems throughout the arid West. And the Colorado is the biggest lifeline of all. Whether you paddle in them, play in them, or just sit on the banks and enjoy the flow, restored rivers sustain us. One of our close collaborators, had this great post from National Geographic showcasing the amazing ways that people (not to mention birds and the entire arid ecosystem) truly benefit from the pulse. You can tell just by looking at NatGeo’s photo: After 30 years of not having water to play in, it’s really great for people, recreation, and the entire river system. While it takes time, working across political and even national divides for big solutions is definitely the way forward, as the pulse flow shows.

Big congrats to all who made the pulse flow happen, and we’ll keep working to find new opportunities to restore flows to rivers across the drought stricken west, and working hand-in-hand with paddlers, farmers, conservationists and governments to make those happen.