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<br />specified "That the dam and reservoir prqvided for shall be used: <br />First, for river regulation, improvementi of navigation, and flood <br />, <br />control; second, for irrigation and dome$tic uses and satisfaction of <br />present perfected rights; and third, for power. " <br /> <br />Therefore, in planning the operation of the system, the first <br />consideration is that sufficient space be available at various seasons <br />of the year to control possible flood inflow. Regulations for operation <br />of flood control have been developed in c~operation with the Corps of <br />Engineers and the maximum levels of the! lake at various dates <br />throughout the year are fixed therein, as iwell as procedures for <br />operation at other times. ' <br /> <br />Requirements for irrigation and domestic uses have priority <br />over power generation and it is necessary that an adequate amount of <br />stored water be retained in Lake Mead tq guarantee delivery of <br />irrigation water to downstream areas in the United States and Mexico. <br />At present the usable storage content of the reservoir is approximately <br />13,100,000 acre feet which is sufficient t~ insure full satisfaction of <br />irrigation and other consumptive use rec1uirements along the lower river <br />even though the most severe water short~ge of record should re-occur. <br /> <br />Last but not least in importance \,omes power generation. From <br />the prior statements as to flood contl."ol ~nd irrigation water releases <br />it will be quite clear that power developrpent can be a difficult and <br />sometimes controversial issue. To be ~e1pful in an understanding of <br />the situation let us place in the record n~t only the operating criteria <br />(already specified) but the careful studi~s that were made prior to any <br />commitments being made in relation to firm power potential. <br /> <br />The studies referred to indicate4: <br /> <br />1. That use of water stored in Lak~ Mead to augment adverse inflow, <br />which could be expected during ~ series of subnormal runoff years <br />, <br />could cause the level of the rese~voir to d"rop as low as an elevation <br />of 1,000 feet. ! <br /> <br />2. That under subnormal inflow se~sona1 conditions it would be <br />desirable to reduce the annual gjmeration of energy to less than <br />the firm energy obligation to: <br /> <br />a. Minimize storagedepletionj <br /> <br />b. Facilitate recovery of the Cake to normal operating levels. <br /> <br />Accordingly, it can be seen that there is no hard and fast guarantee that the <br />full amount of the annual firm energy opligation will be actually available <br /> <br />- 30 i- <br />I <br />! <br /> <br /> <br />