Simplify the following text for a Grade 6 native English-speaking person.
Original: Officials instead opted to open all six floodgates at 0400 UTC on December 12 , which released about 1.6 million gallons ( 6.1 million liters ) of water into the river every second .
Simplified: Officials instead chose to open all six floodgates at 0400 UTC on December 12 , which released about 1.6 million gallons ( 6.1 million liters ) of water into the river every second .