Rising river not unusual

There might have been just enough rain this weekend to rinse off the car, but the effect of it was enough to cause the Colorado River to rise several feet in Yuma.
 
The almost .03 inches of rain was enough to cause some water users to not take the water they requested from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation almost three days before. And that caused the river to rise about four to five feet, according to Bob Walsh, external affairs officer with the bureau.
 
A picture published in The Sun last week compared to a picture taken Monday shows the change in the water level.
 
Walsh said there was no additional water released this weekend and with no place to store the excess water, it runs downstream to Yuma and into Mexico.
 
Walsh said although it doesn't happen often, it does happen periodically.
 
"This is not an unusual thing," Walsh said.

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Stephanie A. Wilken can be reached at swilken@yumasun.com or 539-6857.