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<br />o <br />-) <br />~ <br />to", <br />U\ <br />..... <br /> <br />inches below the average. February precipitation was below average also. The reported total for the <br />month of February was 0.79 inches, 67 percent of the 1966~ 1995 average. Inflow for February fell below <br />average at 90 percent. March 1 snowpack water content was <br />99 percent of average, while the April-July runoff forecast increased to 200,000 acre-feet. March <br />precipitation was well below average at 39 percent, but the inflow improved to 122 percent of average. <br />Higher temperatures across the state contributed to the increase in inflow, as the snowpack began to melt <br />off. April 1 snowpack water content was reported to be 78 percent of the 30-year average. With the <br />snowpack water content percentage reduced, the April-July runoff forecast decreased to 165,000 acre- <br />feet. <br /> <br />Lake Granby storage on March 31 was 454,184 acre-feet which was 158,094 acre-feet above the 1966- <br />1995 average.. <br /> <br />April was another dry month in the area, as the weather brought. only 0.85 inches cif rain to the <br />. watershed. That was only 52 percent of the 30-year average. The May 1 snowpack water content <br />continued to be low at 78 percent of the 30-year average. As a result of the dry conditions, May-July <br />runoff forecast was dropped to 150,000 acre-feet, below the volume forecasted for the same period the <br />previous 4 years. April inflow was also lowat 81 percent of average. <br /> <br />The dry weather pattern continued during May. Precipitation for the month was less than an inch, a low <br />54 percent of the 1966-1995 average. Warmer temperatures helped to increase the inflow into the <br />reservoir. As the month progressed, inflow increased. The total inflow volume reported was 51,044 <br />. . <br />acre-feet, which represents 97 percent of the 30-year average. <br /> <br />The summer mountain storms brought some reliefto the dry conditions in the area during June in the <br />form of rainfall. Precipitation for the watershed was reported at 2.00 inches, or 137 percent of to <br />30-year average. But, regardless of the additional precipitation, the inflow began to fall, as the snowpack <br />had dropped to a minimum. By the end of June, inflow total was computed at <br />71,300 acre-feet, which represented 74 percent of the 1966-1995 average. Lake Granby storage <br />continued to rise rapidly reachinga peak of 538,166 acre-feet by July 1, with a water surface elevation <br />8,279.78. feet, which was 0.22 feet below maximum operating level. Lake Granby is required to initiate <br />a spill when the water surface elevation reaches 8,279.50 feet. A spill was initiated on June 28,as the <br />reservoir elevation reached that level. The spill continued until July 9.. A total of 13,918 acre-feet were <br />released over the spillway during those 12 days. Natural inflow peaked on June 3 at 2,054 ft%. Adams <br />Tunnel diversions were minimal during the first half of June, as the east slope enjoyed higher <br />precipitation during the spring and the water storage situation at Carter and Horsetooth was near normal. <br />The maximum daily average spillway release at Lake Granby for the water year 1998 was 1,225 ft3/s. <br />This maximum release . was recorded on <br />July 2, 1998. <br /> <br />Precipitation increased dramatically during the month of July, as rainfall reports totaled 3.62 inches, 210 <br />percent of average. Natural inflow was also increased. <br />The total inflow for the month was reported at 46,600 acre-feet, 112 percent of the 30-year average. The <br />total April-July inflow was 178,100 acre-feet, which was 85 percent of average. Total release to the <br />Colorado River for July was equal to the bypass release for minimum required fish habitat plus a spill of <br />11,191 acre-feet that ended on July 9. The Lake Granby spill totaled 32,000 acre-feet for water year <br />1998, 256 percent of the 3D-year average. <br /> <br />For the month of August, diversions through the Adams Tunnel were at a maximum capacity. <br /> <br />11 <br />