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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Mr. Travis Smith, Superintendent <br />October 16, 2003 <br />Page 8 <br /> <br />Grande Reservoir are that it would suffer evaporation at a smaller rate and that it would not be <br />subject to spill from Project "Storage. It is noted that Colorado had a credit of 53,200 acre-feet in <br />Project Storage at the end of 1994 that was lost in the 1995 spill. <br /> <br />The storage of Colorado credit water would be achieved by holding the water in storage, <br />equal to the amount of the anticipated credit in the compact accounting. To the extent the water <br />is held in the reservoir enlargement, the delivery obligation would be calculated under Article III <br />as if the water had not been held in storage. If the water is released in a subsequent year, it <br />would add to the physical water supply in the Rio Grande, but not to the delivery obligation, <br />since the delivery obligation had been paid on ~he water'in the year it was held in storage. We <br />have assumed here that only Rio Grande credit water as determined by the Rio Grande's <br />separate Compact accounting would be available for storage in the reservoir enlargement. <br /> <br />Under the current Compact administration, curtailment of Colorado water uses should <br />not result in significant credits under the Compact. Consequently, credit water would have been <br />available for storage in the reservoir enlargement primarily when the existing reservoirs filled or <br />would have filled under current Compact administration. In addition to the years when Project <br />Storage spilled, Rio Grande Reservoir filled or nearly filled in 1948-49, 1952, 1957-58, 1962, <br />1965, 1970, 1973, 1997, and 1998. As noted above, water years 1946-67 were essentially <br />without Compact administration and some relatively large debits occurred and accrued as a <br />result. Inspection of the annual reports of the Rio Grande Compact Commission showed that <br />the Rio Grande had annual credits in only 1948, 1949, and 1958. Therefore, credit water would <br />have been available for storage in the reservoir enlargement in these three years. <br /> <br />As indicated previously, water years 1968-85 was a period of administration under the <br />1968 Stipulation with New Mexico and Texas and significant curtailments were made to Rio <br />Grande water uses. Our examination of the Compact accounting and our curtailment <br />calculations indicated that Rio Grande Reservoir would have filled in 1970 and 1984 in addition <br />to 1973 and 1985 when the reservoir filled historically. Water would have been available to the <br />reservoir enlargement in 1985 under the Tres Rios terms and conditions as discussed earlier. <br />Therefore, credit water could have been stored in the reservoir enlargement in 1970, 1973, and <br />1984. <br /> <br />In the period of current Compact Administration after 1985, Rio Grande Reservoir filled <br />in 1986, 1987, 1995, 1997, and 1998. Water was available to the reservoir enlargement under <br />