WSP10414

• File Number: 8282.600.40
• Description: Colorado River Annual Operations Reports
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Date: 1/1/1999
• Author: USDOI/BOR
• Title: Colorado River Reservoir Operation Status Reports Part 1
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Data

Date: March 8, 1999

RECEIVED
MAR 1 8 1999

From:

Water Resource Group, Salt Lake City

Colorado Water
Conservation Board

To:

All Colorado River Annual Operating Plan (AOP) Recipients

Current Status

February
inflow (unreg)
(Acre-Feet)

Percent
of normal

Midnight
March 7
Elevation

Reservoir
Storage
(Acre-Feet)

Fontenelle
Flaming Gorge
Blue Mesa
Powell
Navajo

33,000
49,000
24,000
302,000
23,000

113
100
109
73
80

6,473.89
6,027.47
7,486.55
3,678.45
6,062.43

136,000
3,252,000
555,000
21,033,000
1,379,000

Expected Operation

FONTENELLE - Releases from Fontenelle Reservoir are currently at 1350 cfs and the reservoir elevation is
about 6475 feet.

Snowpack above Fontenelle is III percent of average. Most probable inflow into Fontenelle Reservoir this
coming runoff season is 112 percent of average.

Releases will likely remain at or near 1350 cfs through the month of March. in April, as inflow begins to
pick up. releases will be increased. The exact level of releases will depend upon how quickly inflow
increases in April. It is likely, however. that by late April releases will be within the 1800 to 2400 cfs range.

Fontenelle should be very nearly full in early July 1999.

FLAMING r.oRGE - Releases from Flaming Gorge Reservoir are currently at 3300 cfs. The release
pattern has been steady with little or no hour-to-hour variability. Releases were increased from 2800 cfs
to 3300 cfs on February 20.

Releases were increased in order to lower the reservoir to an appropriate level for this year's anticipated
runoff. Based on most probable inflow, the elevation of Flaming Gorge will likely reach a low elevation this
year of 6026 feet (14 feet of vacant space) in early April 1999.

Inflow has been above average during the first portion of water year 1999. Additionally, snow conditions in
the Upper Green River basin have changed significantly in the past two months. Snowpack on December 20,
1998 in the Upper Green River basin was only 60 percent of average. As of March 5, 1999, snowpack in the