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Interim Guidelines for the <br />Operation of Lake Powell <br />and Lake Mead <br />determination, as flow in the Colorado River has been sufficient to meet Normal <br />or Surplus delivery amounts. When making a shortage determination, the <br />Secretary must consult with various parties as set forth in the Consolidated <br />Decree and consider all relevant factors as specified in the LROC, including <br />1944 Treaty obligations, the priorities set forth in the Consolidated Decree, and <br />the reasonable consumptive use requirements of mainstream water users in the <br />Lower Division states. If a state does not use all of its apportioned water for the <br />year, the Secretary may allow other Lower Division states to use the unused <br />apportionment, provided that the use is authorized by a water delivery contract <br />with the Secretary. <br />As discussed above, during the period from 2000 to 2007, the Colorado River has <br />experienced the worst drought conditions in approximately one hundred years of <br />recorded history. This drought in the Basin has reduced Colorado River system storage, <br />while demands for Colorado River water supplies have continued to increase. From <br />October 1, 1999 through September ~0, 2007, storage in Colorado River reservoirs fell <br />from 55.8 maf (approximately 94 percent of capacity) to 32.1 maf (approximately 54 <br />percent of capacity), and was as low as 29.7 maf (approximately 52 percent of capacity) <br />in 2004. This drought was the first sustained drought experienced in the Basin at a time <br />when all major storage facilities were in place, and when use by the Lower Division <br />states met or exceeded the annual "normal" apportionment of 7.5 maf pursuant to <br />Article II(B)(1) of the Consolidated Decree. <br />Currently, the Department does not have specific operational guidelines in place to <br />address the operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead during drought and low reservoir <br />conditions. To date, storage of water and flows in the Colorado River have been <br />sufficient so that it has not been necessary to reduce Lake Mead annual releases below <br />7.5 maf; that is, the Secretary has never reduced deliveries by declaring a "shortage" on <br />the lower Colorado River. Without operational guidelines in place, however, water <br />users in the Lower Division states who rely on Colorado River water are not currently <br />able to identify particular reservoir conditions under which the Secretary would reduce <br />the annual amount of water available for consumptive use from Lake Mead to the <br />Lower Division states below 7.5 maf. Nor are these water users able to identify the <br />frequency or magnitude of any potential future annual reductions in their water <br />deliveries. <br />Accordingly, the Secretary, acting through Reclamation, proposes adoption of specific <br />Colorado River Lower Basin shortage guidelines and coordinated reservoir <br />management strategies to address operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead, <br />particularly under drought and low reservoir conditions. These Guidelines are found at <br />Section XI of this ROD. This action is proposed in order to provide a greater degree of <br />certainty to United States Colorado River water users and managers of the Basin by <br />providing detailed, and objective guidelines for the operations of Lake Powell and Lake <br />Mead, thereby allowing water users in the Lower Basin to know when, and by how <br />much, water deliveries will be reduced in drought and other low reservoir conditions. <br />December 2007 ROD -Colorado River Interim Guidelines for <br />6 Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated <br />Operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead <br />