Colorado River faces fish-versus-power dilemma as waters warm

Federal officials said on Thursday that they will not release cool water this year from Colorado River's major reservoirs. This water would have protected a threatened native fish downstream, but put more strain on already struggling hydropower production. In an email obtained by The Associated Press, the Bureau of Reclamation told various groups that water from Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona would not be released “due to significant hydropower generation concerns under already strained system conditions.”As the Colorado River and its once-massive reservoirs shrink from overuse and climate change, officials have faced a decision that pits the conservation of the humpback chub, a threatened fish native to the river, against electricity costs for ratepayers.The situation comes after the worst snowpack on record for the Colorado River basin, relied upon by farmers, industries, wildlife, hydropower and more than 40 million people in seven American states, tribal nations and Mexico.