Hey, what's that Sound? Is it the "Perfect Flood"?
On June 22, 2009, the first full day of summer, we drove the Potash Road (Utah Route 279), beginning at its junction with U.S. Highway 191 North, near Moab, Utah. A paved highway, Potash Road parallels Kane Creek Access Road, on the opposite bank of the Colorado River. Both roads meander downstream from Moab and the Spanish Valley.
Watch the Action - The Potash Road Moab, Utah 2009
On the west bank, Potash Road skirts the Moab Pile, which occupies most of
the
floodplain along the outside radius of the river bend. When we stopped
downstream of the pile and looked across, we saw charred evidence of the
October 22, 2008 Matheson Wetlands fire.
The high water table there has encouraged new growth in that unique and
vital wetland habitat, but years will pass before nature erases the
scar.
The Matheson Wetlands
occupy a floodplain along the inside radius of this unique Colorado
River bend. Its uniqueness as a riparian environment stems from the lack
of canyon walls on either side of the bend. From the east, Spanish
Valley descends gradually, until it meets the wetlands within the
ancient flood plain. Despite a setback 
from
the fire, The Nature Conservancy's ecologists are midway through a plan
to bring back a natural flow of water throughout the Matheson Wetlands.
from
the fire, The Nature Conservancy's ecologists are midway through a plan
to bring back a natural flow of water throughout the Matheson Wetlands. Water use planning in the Four Corner states, Nevada
and Southern California depends on the stability and ultimate removal
of the radioactive landfill, known as the Moab Pile.
The fragile position of the Moab Pile is what most concerns downstream
water planners in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. They know that documented paleofloods
of enormous size periodically scour the flood plain of the Colorado in
that location. At least two megafloods occurred in the past several
thousand years. In such a flood, the broken megaliths that line the
canyon upstream of the 
pile
could be set loose, battering the vulnerable pile and washing it into
the Colorado River channel. If it happened that recently, it could
happen again.
pile
could be set loose, battering the vulnerable pile and washing it into
the Colorado River channel. If it happened that recently, it could
happen again.In a “Perfect Flood” scenario, there would be heavy snowfall during a cold winter in the Colorado Plateau watershed. With an entire winter’s snowpack still in place, dust storms
of enormous size could arise from the over-grazed Navajo Indian
Reservation, to the South. Contemporary dust storms create weather
vortices that are orders of magnitude larger than the largest
firestorms. As the storms move across Southeastern Utah, land long
overgrazed by ranchers and more recently overrun by off-road vehicles
ads to 
the problem. If a series of such storms carried sufficient airborne soil, followed by rain, a blanket of dust could melt the Colorado Plateau snowpack
in short order. At its peak, the subsequent flood could engulf the Moab
Pile and wash its toxic and radioactive material downstream towards
Lake Powell.
the problem. If a series of such storms carried sufficient airborne soil, followed by rain, a blanket of dust could melt the Colorado Plateau snowpack
in short order. At its peak, the subsequent flood could engulf the Moab
Pile and wash its toxic and radioactive material downstream towards
Lake Powell.Currently, there is an active effort to relocate the Moab Pile to the new Moab Mountain, location at Crescent Junction, Utah. According to current Department of Energy (DOE) estimates,
the removal project will take until 2022-2025. Depending on materials
and conditions found in the core of the pile, those estimates are
subject to change. As of this writing, the most 
optimistic
estimates are for a thirteen-year project. Meanwhile, engineers and
planners have done little to protect the pile from the potential of a
Perfect Flood, as described above. The only observable difference at the
site is the widening of a dry watercourse adjacent to the upstream side
of the pile. The widening and deepening of that arroyo is all that
stands between the river and the safety of the Lower Colorado Basin water supply and its seventeen million users.
optimistic
estimates are for a thirteen-year project. Meanwhile, engineers and
planners have done little to protect the pile from the potential of a
Perfect Flood, as described above. The only observable difference at the
site is the widening of a dry watercourse adjacent to the upstream side
of the pile. The widening and deepening of that arroyo is all that
stands between the river and the safety of the Lower Colorado Basin water supply and its seventeen million users.If a Perfect Flood were to hit the pile before its
complete removal, life in the West would never be the same. Communities
and individuals whose water sources are upstream of the pile 
would be safe. Those living downstream of the potential washout could find Colorado River water unfit for home, industrial
or agricultural consumption. If our water supply experienced a dramatic
spike in chemicals, heavy metals and radioactive waste, we would
immediately seek a different water source.
would be safe. Those living downstream of the potential washout could find Colorado River water unfit for home, industrial
or agricultural consumption. If our water supply experienced a dramatic
spike in chemicals, heavy metals and radioactive waste, we would
immediately seek a different water source. If seventeen million residents had to find new water
supplies or perish, the Southwestern U.S. would face depopulation far
greater than the Anasazi Disappearance, around 1200 CE. Financially, the Perfect Flood would make the estimated $150 billion cost of Hurricane Katrina look diminutive, by comparison. From Moab, Utah, to its dry and neglected delta, at the Sea of Cortez, Mexico, the Colorado River would become a river of death.
Email James McGillis By James McGillis at 11:45 AM | | Comments (0) | Link
