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<br />o <br />o <br />.... <br />c.P <br />U1 <br />0) <br /> <br />FLOOD BENEFITS <br /> <br />Precipitation over the upper Colorado River Basin was slightly below average during water year] 998. <br />The snowpack began to drop below average in March, as precipitation decreased. Precipitation in general <br />was low over the entire region during the] 998 spring season. fu response, the Colorado-Big Thompson <br />Projects (CBT) reservoirs storages were kept at above-average levels during the entire water year. <br /> <br />Temperatures over Colorado during the spring of ]998 were slightly higher than normal. Higher <br />temperatures contributed to an earlier than normal snowmelt. This early snowmelt produced inflows into <br />the east slope reservoirs that were more evenly distributed over the length of the spring season. fuflows <br />were a little higher than average early in the season, and slightly lower than average later in the spring <br />and early summer. The earlier snowmelt, combined with the lack of significant precipitation over the <br />upper Colorado River Basin prevented any significant runoff from occurring during water year 1998. <br />Based on the estimates provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, no flood damages were <br />prevented in the Colorado River Basin during water year 1998 by the operation of Lake Granby and <br />Green Mountain Reservoir. <br /> <br />Since construction, the Colorado-Big Thompson Project has prevented flood damages totaling $302,000. <br /> <br />IRRIGATION REQUIREMENTS <br /> <br />The amount of water to be made available to the Project for irrigation will be determined jointly by <br />Northem Colorado Water Conservancy District and Reclamation the latter part of March. This <br />determination will be subject to change by agreement throughout the remainder of the irrigation season. <br />Changes may occur due to substantial changes in the prevailing conditions. Estimation ofthe irrigation <br />requirements for the three inflow conditions were derived by analyzing actual use in similar runoff years <br />when the supply of project water was ample. <br /> <br />Estimated supplemental irrigation deliveries from Green Mountain Reservoir to irrigators in the <br />Colorado River Basin are included in the release from Green Mountain Reservoir, according to the <br />"Operating Criteria for Green Mountain Reservoir." <br /> <br />16 <br />