BOULDER CITY, Nev. - Beginning today and continuing through October 2012, Colorado River water releases from Davis Dam north of Laughlin, Nevada, will be uncharacteristically low due to reduced water demands downstream. The Bureau of Reclamation is also reducing releases from Hoover Dam creating flow conditions that are lower than usual for this time of year.

The reduced water releases will result in lower than normal river water levels throughout the Laughlin/Bullhead City area. While Colorado River levels in the area normally fluctuate, this reduction from Davis Dam will result in peak flows dropping from about a 4-unit flow or 19,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), to no higher than a 2-unit flow or 9,200 cfs. A 1-unit change in flow is equivalent to approximately 2 feet in the river’s depth below Davis Dam.

Boaters below Hoover and Davis Dams should exercise extra caution during this period of reduced river flows as sandbars, boulders and gravel will be exposed creating more hazardous river conditions.

The temporary reduction in water releases is necessary because of a break in the Central Arizona Project (CAP) canal near Bouse, Arizona, approximately 50 miles southeast of Lake Havasu City. While this part of the canal is out of service, Colorado River water deliveries are being temporarily halted. For additional information on the CAP canal break go to: http://www.cap-az.com/PublicInformation/PressReleases/tabid/284/ID/85/CAP-Canal-Breach-Floods-Highway.aspx .

Daily and hourly information on releases from the Bureau of Reclamation's Colorado River dams is available on Reclamation's web site at www.usbr.gov/lc/riverops.html under Current Conditions. For further information contact the Boulder Canyon Operations Office Water Control Center at 702-293-8373, or BCOOWaterops@usbr.gov.