Dep. Secretary of DOI Michael Connor addresses those assembled at the #PulseFlow event and Morelos Dam.
US IBWC Commissioner Edward Dursina speaks to press and attendees at the Minute 319 Pulse Flow Ceremony from Morelos Dam.
Journalists, conservationists, and policymakers gathered today at Morelos Dam to observe and celebrate the pulse flow. This historic event is a product of binational cooperation that reframes water management in the Colorado River for the first time in decades.
Karen Schlatter, of Sonoran Institute, describes the scene at Morelos Dam this morning as the Colorado River pulse flow hits its peak.
(Source: http://www.tumblr.com/)
The pulse flow – a temporary release of water designed to mimic the river’s natural spring floods – began on Sunday, March 23. The pulse flow is expected to peak at its highest flow rate today through March 30, and is expected to last nearly eight weeks total, bringing much needed relief to the habitats and communities in the delta region.
Water has already reached the bridge at San Louis Rio Colorado, 35 kilometers south of Morelos Dam.
Today, policymakers, water agencies, and conservation organizations from the United States and Mexico have gathered at Morelos Dam, which straddles the U.S.–Mexico border, to witness the pulse flow and to celebrate the culmination of years of negotiations to restore the Colorado River Delta.
Afterwards, Raise The River coalition members and journalists will take a tour of the Laguna Grande Restoration Area.
Sonoran Institute and Pronatura Noroeste began restoration in the site in 2006, and to date have restored over 150 acres of riparian habitat. The restoration area is now the largest and most dense stand of native riparian habitat along the river in Mexico. The Sonoran Institute and Pronatura’s on-the-ground restoration projects in Laguna Grande have demonstrated the feasibility and success of restoration in the region.
Never before have we deliberately sent water below the Morelos Dam … to benefit the environment, … By abandoning the old framework of ‘who gets what’ and establishing cooperative management of our shared resource, the U.S. and Mexico are achieving benefits for communities and nature alike.
Jennifer Pitt of the Environmental Defense Fund, who helped negotiate the one-time flood, wrote on her blog this month.
The pulse flow will peak from today through March 30, but water is expected to stay in the river as long as May 18.