BOARD00179 ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 5/23/2007
• Description: Director's Report - CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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Proposed Flaming Gorge Pipeline (Aarol Million Proposal): Aaron Million has
proposed a pipeline project that would diver~ water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir,
which is located on the Green River at the Ut~h-Wyoming Border. The project would
convey water from Flaming GOrge to the com~unities along the front range in Colorado
and Wyoming as well as to communities along the selected route. Several potential
routes are being considered and it appears, at!least from an operational standpoint, the
route paralleling 1-80 would be the most viabl~. The project proponent has asked the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to identify how m~ch water would be available for
contracting out of Flaming Gorge Reservoir for such a project. On March 30, 2007 the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation responded that an!estimated 165,000 acre-feet would be
available for contracting during the next 40-ye~r period. Mr. Million has discussed his
project with a number of water providers, the Ppper Colorado River Commission
Engineering Committee and recently met withjus concerning his project. Both the
UCRC Engineering Committee and we inform~d him that his proposed project raised a
number of issues of first impression, particularly with respect to water administration,
that would need to be addressed in all the statJs in which the project passes through.
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Further discussions are anticipated with Mr. Million in the future concerning the project.
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Colorado River 7-Basin State Agreement: The Seven Colorado River Basin States
signed an historic agreement on April 23, 2007 *nd submitted comments to the U.S.
Department of Interior and the Bureau of Reclafnation on the Draft Environmental
Impact Statement, Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and the
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Coordinated Operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead under Low Reservoir
Conditions. The Agreement and EIS commentJ, which included a 7-State
recommendation for a DEIS preferred alternati~e, will be discussed further at the Board
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meeting. The documents themselves can be foufld on CWCB website at
www.cwcb.state.co.us. I
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15-Mile Reach Programmetic Biological O~inion (PBO) report: Pursuant to
provisions contained in the IS-Mile Reach PBO, ~very 5 years beginning in 2005, the
Service and the State of Colorado will jointly coll~ct consumptive use data and other
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data necessary to update the State's CDSS ConsU;mptive Use Model and the State's CDSS
Colorado River Mainstem Water Right Planning Model "Cl run" as described in
Appendix F of the PBO. Data collected will incl~de irrigated acres, climatic data needed
to run the "Modified Blaney-Criddle" consumptire use model, as well as data on
evaporation, municipal and industrial uses, and 6ther consumptive uses identified in the
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Bureau of Reclamation's consumptive uses and losses report. The Service would also
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provide a list of projects and new depletions consplted on during the last 5-year period.
The updated information will be used by the USFWS and UCRIP to determine how
much new depletion has actually occurred durin~ the previous 5-years, because only
those depletions which are new and have actuall~ occurred will count against the
120,000 acre-feet/year future development aUowaQce provided for in the IS-Reach PBO.
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