Tuesday July 14, 2026
KJZZ —
Environmental advocates are looking for answers about a federal program to protect threatened fish in the Grand Canyon.
The program, which was established in 2024, releases cold water from Lake Powell into a stretch of the Colorado River when it’s particularly warm. It’s part of an effort to push out invasive fish, like smallmouth bass, that can eat federally-protected native fish like the humpback chub.
This year, the river is warm enough to trigger the releases, but Reclamation has made no announcements about whether they will take place.
The releases, which are known as “cool mix flows” took place in 2024 and 2025, and Reclamation officials heralded it as an important way to protect native fish. However, the water that would be pushed downstream is caught in the middle of a big, complicated debate about the future of the Colorado River.
The water would come from Lake Powell, the nation’s second-largest reservoir. The reservoir is less than a quarter full, and creeping toward all-time record lows. If water levels in Powell drop much lower, it could force the shutdown of hydroelectric turbines inside Glen Canyon Dam, which holds back the reservoir in Page, Arizona.