The Colorado River finally reunited with the Gulf of California, otherwise known as Sea of Cortez, after 16 years. The event marked the end of a 53-day-long pulse flow or artificial flood, event.
The artificial flood was part of an international agreement between the United States and Mexico called Minute 319. The five-year agreement included implementation efforts to enhance water infrastructures, reductions of water supply during low times, extension of Minute 318, and support of ecological health in Colorado River.
On Thursday, Francisco Zamora, director of the Colorado River Delta Legacy Program for the Sonoran Institute, observed how a high tide passed through a stubborn sandbar that created a linking channel between freshwater from the Colorado River and salty waters of the Gulf of California.
The channel, dug by the institute, enabled an increase in the flow of the freshwater into the Gulf of California. The freshwater came from wastewater treatment plants. The seawater, on the other hand, ran north and passed through Rio Hardy, then drained into Gulf waters in a 15-mile downstream.
On March 23, the institute first released some water from the Morales Dam. Scientists wondered if the water would flow in the right direction heading towards the Gulf, or would remain in the broad delta area of the river. Upon the successful completion of the Colorado River journey, it signaled an increased percentage of the area's potential for restoration.
"After waiting for two months, it was very exciting to see," Zamora said during an interview with LiveScience's Our Amazing Planet. "This pulse flow opens the door for new possibilities for restoring riparian and estuary habitats."
While it was true that only a small amount of water could reach the estuary habitat where the river meets with the sea, scientists believed that it would still help hundreds of bird species nesting in the Gulf, and would contribute significantly in the restoration of vanished species in the area.
When the artificial flood ends, a base flow on a lower level will continue to rehydrate the delta's many restoration sites until 2017.
