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<br />The March 1 snow-water content increased to 110 percent of average and the April-July runoff <br />forecast increased to 58,000 acre-feet. <br /> <br />October through March precipitation in the Willow Creek watershed was nearly average at 104 <br />percent of the 1966-1995 average. Snow-pack water content for the April 1 measurement was 85 <br />percent of average. The April-July snowmelt runoff forecast decreased substantially to <br />45,000 acre-feet. Inflows were 150 percent of average for March. <br /> <br />April inflows were 94 percent of average for the month. April had below average precipitation at <br />72 percent of average, and the May 1 snow-pack was 105 percent of average. The April-July <br />runoff forecast was 48,000 acre-feet. Although May precipitation was low at 69 percent of <br />average, natural inflow remained average at 21,195 acre-feet, 99 percent of average. Inflow <br />peaked at 701 ft3fs on May 30, 1999. <br /> <br />June precipitation continued below average at 86 percent and inflow was average at 101 percent. <br />Inflow remained average for July at 100 percent, as it fell below 100 fefs by July 7. Granby <br />Reservoir maintained a constant discharge between late June and the early July. Therefore, very <br />little water was pumped into Granby from Willow Creek Reservoir. Total April-July inflow was <br />49,314 acre-feet or 99 percent of average. Precipitation continued to be well above average for <br />July at 190 percent. Bypass releases above the minimum required release to Willow Creek were <br />6,637 acre-feet for May, 9,478 acre-feet for June and 1,201 acre-feet for July, 1,342 acre-feet for <br />August, and 1,100 acre-feet for September. August precipitation was well above average at 141 <br />percent, and inflow was above average at 130 percent of the 1966-1995 average. <br /> <br />September precipitation was well below average at 58 percent, however by the end of the water <br />year, natural inflow was average at 103 percent, which amounted to 60,700 acre-feet. <br /> <br />During the water year 1999,26,236 acre-feet of controlled releases into the river were made in <br />excess to irrigation demand and minimum flow requirements. Lake Granby was at maximum <br />capacity for most of the year, due to the high runoff. Excess volumes from Willow Creek <br />Reservoir were bypassed into the river, as the storages at Lake Granby reached their maximum <br />level. These optimizing operations at the Willow Creek Project resulted in significant savings in <br />pump energy costs. However, during the months of March through July, 1999, as storage <br />became available, 24,782 acre-feet of water were pumped to Lake Granby. There were also an <br />additional 3,002 acre-feet pumped to Lake Granby during October and November, 1998, as <br />storage became available in Lake Granby, and storage space was needed for winter time <br />operations in Willow Creek Reservoir. . During water year 1999, a total of 27,780 acre-feet <br />were pumped into Lake Granby, which was only 88 percent of historical average. By the end of <br />September, 1999, the volume stored at Willow Creek Reservoir had reached 9,299 acre-feet. <br /> <br />] ] <br />