Reservoir operational strategies for sustainable sand management model code and input data for Lake Powell, Lake Mead, and the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona

These data were compiled to provide necessary inputs to run the models in our paper, Operating Lake Powell Under Uncertainty: Strategies for Sustainable Sand Management in the Colorado River. Objective(s) of our study were to identify dam release strategies for improved management of sand resources in Grand Canyon. These data represent model inputs. Hydrology inputs were derived from U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) 24-month studies, and "other inputs" include parameters related to reservoir modeling from the Colorado River Simulation System (CRSS), and parameters related to operational strategies. Original data provided by the USBR were subsequently reprocessing by the U.S. Geological Survey, Grand Canyon Monitoring Research Center and was enhanced using additional model inputs related to operational strategies. These data can be used to model potential future dam operational strategies for increasing sand retention and sandbar size in Grand Canyon.