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<br />~ <br />OflZ::'3<l <br /> <br />Glen Canyon Dam 1997 Annual Plan of Operations <br />prepared in accordance with the Operating Criteria <br />developed for the Grand Canyon Protection Act (GCP A) <br /> <br />Under the most probable inflow conditions in water year 1997, Glen Canyon Dam is expected to <br />release about 14.1 million acre-feet through the Grand Canyon to Lake Mead. This is about 5.9 <br />million acre-feet greater than the minimum objective release and is the result of high snowpack <br />conditions throughout the Colorado River basin. Lake Powell is expected to fill in July. <br /> <br />Monthly release volumes from Glen Canyon Dam during 1997 are expected to range from 600,000 <br />acre-feet to 1 ,500,000 acre-feet. Projected allowable fluctuations therefore will be 6,000 cfs or 8;000 <br />cfs (see criteria). With projected monthly release volumes, it is likely that peak daily releases will <br />exceed 20,000 cfs during the months of February through July, when monthly release volumes are at <br />their highest for the year. Minimum releases of 5,000 cfslhr decreasing will be followed. All of the <br />above is outlined in the Record of Decision implementing the preferred alternative of the Glen Canyon <br />Dam Environmental Impact Statement. <br /> <br />With projected monthly release volumes, it is likely that peak daily releases will exceed 20,000 cfs <br />during the months of February through July, when monthly release volumes are at their highest for the <br />year. Releases above 25,000 cfs will be made as steady flows. Since there are concerns for possible <br />modifications of the environmental restoration in the Grand Canyon accomplished last year with the <br />beachlhabitat building flow, monitoring of the impacts of this spring's releases will be an important <br />objective of the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center and may result in fluctuating flows to <br />aid in this effort. <br /> <br />Every measure will be taken to prevent a powerplant bypass this spring in order to preserve the <br />environmental enhancement accomplished by the beachlhabitat building flow test in April 1996. <br />Water year 1997 had a January I, 1997, Lake Powell storage content greater than 19 million acre-feet; <br />therefore a beachlhabit maintenance flow of powerplant capacity is not planned. <br /> <br />This plan is prepared in conformance with Section 1804(c)(I)(A) of the GCPA. Any changes to the <br />plan would require reconsultation in accordance with this Act. <br /> <br />16 <br />