A proposal to temporarily extend the time that the Salt River Project (SRP) can hold water at Roosevelt Dam was approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the utility reported in a June 10 news release.

The approved plan increases that amount of time from 20 days to 120 days, once a year for three of the next five years. This, SRP stated, will reduce releases of flood water from the dam into the normally dry Salt River and allow downstream farms and communities to use the water.

The news release added that last year’s watershed runoff reached the flood control space at Roosevelt Dam, and SRP was required to release the flood water within 20 days. The company said that around 109,000 acre-feet of the released water could have been put to use in the SRP system if they were able to hold it for 120 days.

“SRP recognizes the need to carefully manage every drop on the watershed while maintaining the safety of dams for our communities and protecting the environment,” said Leslie Meyers, SRP associate general manager and chief water resources executive.

The proposal, SRP stated, resulted from collaboration between themselves, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and a consortium of local cities, tribes and agricultural districts. SRP, Freeport McMoRan and the Roosevelt Irrigation District will be among partners benefiting from the pilot program.

According to the news release, the modified plan will not impact the safety of Roosevelt Dam or downstream communities. Over the next five years, SRP and its partners will review the value of the revised operation to determine if requesting a permanent change to flood operations is warranted.