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<br />COLORADO BASIN <br /> <br />Basinwide Conditions Assessment <br />The SWSI value for the month was 2.1. The Natural <br />Resources Conservation Service reports that January 1 <br />snowpack is 105% of normal. Flow at the gaging station <br />Colorado River near Dotsero was 951 cfs, as compared to <br />the long-term average of 1052 cfs. Storage in Green <br />Mountain, Ruedi, and Williams Fork reservoirs totaled 115% <br />of normal as of the end of December. <br /> <br />Outlook <br />Upper Colorado River Basin precipitation levels <br />increased during the month of December with heavy snowfall <br />during the first and third weeks of the month. No changes in <br />basin reservoir releases have occurred. Reservoir volumes <br />remain at or above average for this time of year. <br /> <br />Administrative/Manaqement Concerns <br />A Colorado River water pact agreement signed by <br />Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and state officials <br />representing California, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, <br />Colorado, and New Mexico established cooperation rules <br />during the continuing regional drought, now in its ninth year. <br />The drought plan allows the lower-basin states of California, <br />Arizona, and Nevada to use Lake Mead to store water they <br />conserve or don't need for later use. This could result in <br />storage of nearly 1.5 million acre-feet of conserved water in <br />Lake Mead. <br />Water availability could threaten oil shale <br />development. The Programmatic Environmental Impact <br />Statement drafted by the BLM, identifies estimated water <br />requirements of 2.5 - 4 barrels of water to produce each <br />barrel of shale oil. <br /> <br />Public Use Impacts <br />Construction of a whitewater park on the Colorado <br />River in West Glenwood Springs is underway with a diversion <br />structure in place to isolate half of the channel for wave <br />feature construction. Diversion structure placement was <br />aided by lack of ice formation resulting from the area's <br />geothermal activity. <br /> <br />Jan-08 <br /> <br />ca.~~S1NS/lS HSTCRY <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br /> <br />w <br />::: <br /><{ <br />> 0 <br />x <br />w <br />o <br />Z <br />-.1 <br />>- <br />0:: <br />o <br />.2 <br /> <br />.3 <br /> <br />.4 <br />Jan-OO Jm-OO Jm-01 Jan-02 Jan-CC Jm-04 Jan-05 Jan-OO Jan-07 Jm-OO <br />M:N1H/\S'R <br /> <br />ffiDilU)R\ffi f\R ~ R..QIIJ8(WSJtR ~ <br /> <br />~6I1ClO <br />LL <br />~ s:qClO <br /><t <br />s4:QClO <br />o <br />Li:mClO <br />w <br />2:2:QClO <br />I- <br /><t <br />S1(I1ClO <br />2: <br />~ 0 <br />u <br />Gt <br /> <br /> <br />I'b.! <br /> <br />[fc <br /> <br />...En <br /> <br />FEb <br /> <br />Mrrh <br /> <br />--B- V'ff(1ffi4) <br /> <br />-+- [R((~ <br /> <br />--ts--AV3 <br /> <br />*2lB <br /> <br />RElPRESENTATIVE RESERVOIRS <br /> <br />1oo,CXXJ <br /> <br /> <br />00, CXXJ <br /> <br />8O,CXXJ <br /> <br />j 70.CXXJ <br />'" <br />~ oo,cm <br />ai <br />g> 50, em <br />o <br />~ 4O.CXXJ <br />:0 <br />ro <br />:3 30, CXXJ <br /> <br />2O,CXXJ <br /> <br />10,CXXJ <br /> <br />o <br /> <br />Green rvbuntain <br /> <br />Rueci <br /> <br />Wlliam; Fork <br /> <br />III Avg. 12/31 Contents <br /> <br />11I12/31/07 Contents <br /> <br />7 <br />