Earlier this year, the U.S. and Mexico released 105,000 acre-feet of water into the Colorado River delta south of Yuma — a stretch of the river that's been mostly dry for decades. Now, a progress report says that "pulse flow" has succeeded at recharging aquifers and increasing plant life in the delta.
The International Boundary and Water Commission's report on the pulse flow says the event elevated the delta's water table and helped native and non-native vegetation grow along the channel. Resident and migratory bird activity in the delta was mostly unchanged, the report says.
A pulse flow is designed to mimic the spring runoff normally seen on an undammed river. The portion of the Colorado River that runs through Mexico hasn't seen such a flow since Morelos Dam near Yuma was completed. The pulse flow also allowed Colorado River water to reach the Gulf of California for the first time since the late 1990s.
To read the IBWC's full report, click here. Above, you can watch a Sonoran Institute video about the pulse flow. And to learn more about the project, pick up our January issue, which features a profile of Colorado River Delta Legacy Program director Francisco Zamora-Arroyo — one of the key figures fighting to restore the delta.