The idea of building dams on the Colorado River dates back to the early 1900's. There was a lot of debate about water rights in the Southwest. States like California, Arizona, and Nevada were developing and started worrying about where they would get water for their increasing populations. The solution was to control the flow of the Colorado River so these states could each have enough water. The only way to regulate the flow of the river was with a series of dams, which became the Colorado River Storage Project. It would allow the building of dams to create reservoirs for the purpose of storing the water for these Southwestern states, to make the area more useable, and to generate electricity. .
For the last few decades there has been a constant debate over Glen Canyon Dam, but it has increased in the last few years. A devoted group of environmentalists known as The Sierra Club argues that it would be better to remove the dam and drain Lake Powell because it is causing extreme environmental and ecological problems. While millions of others argue that the lake brings millions of dollars of revenue, the most exciting place of recreation, and water and electricity to more than three states. By weighing out the negative and positive aspects of the dam, research has proven that it would be more environmentally helpful to keep the reservoir untouched. .
A number of proposals for dam sites were made including Dinosaur National Monument at Echo Park and Split Mountain on the Green River, along with Glen Canyon. The Echo Park dam was the dam of choice because it had steep banks that would decrease the amount of evaporation. But because the water would drown Dinosaur National Monument, it was a topic of much debate. Many people, including the Sierra Club, were against the Echo Park dam, and eventually Glen Canyon was chosen as the dam site. Priscilla Perkins, professor at the University of California who studied the effects of the reservoir, said, "[.