BOARD00031 ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 9/20/2006
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Colorado River District Water Seminar Discusses Water Shortages: Shortages of water in the
Colorado River and how the seven states in the Colorado River Basin should share them was the subject
of the annual Colorado River District Water Seminar, held September 15, in Grand Junction.

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"River of Shortages: Drought, Demand and Consensus for the Colorado" was the seminar's theme. It
focused on the Seven States' shortages agreement forged earlier this year among Arizona, California,
Nevada (the Lower Basin states) and Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico (the Upper Basin
states).

Colorado River Water Users Association 61st Annual Conference Scheduled: The CRWUA 61st
Annual Conference entitled "Common Goals" will be held on December 13 - 15 at Caesars Palace - Las
Vegas, Nevada. More information can be found at htto://crwua.org/

Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program: The Work Group will be meeting in Green River UT
on Sept. 12-13. Topics on the agenda include: USDA-EQIP new project areas, funding and cost-share
policies, USBR project issues, energy development water quality impacts, and future of the Paradox Unit
in Montrose County. The Forum and Advisory Council will be meeting the last week of October in the
Phoenix area. The USDA cost-share issue may impact farmer participation in the salinity program, and
will be carefully approached to consider the ability of farmers to pay for a portion of the program while
maximizing the federal benefits to downstream water users.

Gunnison River Basin

Aspinall Operations and Re-Operating EIS,;, The fall operations meeting was held on August 24 at the
Elk Creek Visitors Center. The following are highlights from the meeting:
a. Runoff into the Aspinall Unit was significantly lower than expected. Due to lower than expected .
runoff in the Upper Gunnison basin, Blue Mesa reservoir came close but did not fill. Taylor Park
also did not achieve a physical fill.
b. The North Fork Gunnison reservoirs, such as Paonia, which received above average inflows
filled. Silverjack, Ridgway and other reservoirs below the North Fork confluence also filled.
c. Brenda Alcorn of the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC) gave a presentation
describing how the CBRFC generates forecasts and the progression of the forecast throughout the
spring. Forecasts for the Dolores Basin and the North Fork of the Gunnison were very close to
actual runoff, but in the Upper Gunnison SNOTEL values were consistently above average while
runoff was approximately 80% of average. Various factors including a lack of SNOTEL sites in
certain areas of the basin as well as residents' observations of a lack of snow at lower elevations
in the basin may partially explain the difference between the SNOTEL projects values and the
actual spring runoff.
d. Andrea Ray of the NOAA Climate Diagnostics Center (CDq presented data on the seasonal
climate forecasts, which indicate a warmer than average winter for most of the western U.S. but
don't provide a strong indication of the potential winter precipitation for Colorado
e. The National Park Service announced it would continue to work to reach agreement on its request
for designation of Outstanding Waters within the Curecanti National Recreation Area and the
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, even if that means missing the November 2005
deadline for consideration in the next triennial review. Several years ago the Board supported
local water user opposition to the designation given the potential restrictions that could be
imposed on upstream water uses if the designation is made. NPS is also continuing to sample a
134 vegetation and sediment plots in the Black Canyon and flows were reduced to 610 cfs during
July this past year for that work
f. Don Phillips reported that Reclamation will once again be dredging below Morrow Point .
reservoir to remove sediment deposited by the Cimarron River. CDOT will again use the

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