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<br />The February 1 snowpack water content was recorded at 162 percent of average, resulting in an <br />April-July runoff forecast of 275,000 acre-feet. February precipitation dropped significantly to an <br />average of 57 percent of the 1966-1995 average. Inflow for February also dropped to an average at <br />103 percent. March I snowpack water content was 143 percent of average, which dropped the <br />April-July runoff forecast down to 260,000 acre-feet. <br /> <br />March precipitation was well below average at 38 percent, while inflow estimates increased to <br />135 percent of average. April 1 snowpack water content was 118 percent of average, and the April- <br />July runoff forecast decreased to 230,000 acre-feet. <br /> <br />Lake Granby storage on March 31 was 423,673 acre-feet, which was 127,583 acre-feet above the <br />1966-1995 average of 296,090 acre-feet. <br /> <br />The month of April brought significant precipitation to the area. Lake Granby reported <br />precipitation of 156 percent of average. The May 1 snowpack water content continued well above <br />average at 151 percent, while the wet period increased the April-July runoff forecast to <br />260,000 acre-feet. April inflow was 120 percent of average. <br /> <br />May precipitation continued well above average at 183 percent of the 1966-1995 average, as well <br />as the inflow, which was estimated at 152 percent of average. The October-May inflow was <br />estimated at 129,100 acre-feet, 148 percent of average. <br /> <br />Precipitation during June dropped to 82 percent of average, but the inflow continued to be high, at <br />an estimated 166 percent of the 1966-1995 average. Lake Granby storage continued to increase <br />rapidly, reaching a peak of 538,456 acre-feet by July 11, or water surface elevation 8,279.82 feet, <br />which was 0.18 feet below maximum operating level. Lake Granby is required to initiate a spill <br />when the water surface elevation reaches 8,279.50 feet. Natural inflow peaked on June 6 at <br />2,244 ft3/S. Adams Tunnel diversions were near maximum capacity during most of the months of <br />June and July as the eastern slope runoff and storage conditions allowed. Spillway releases were <br />initiated on May 27, 1997. The total spill for the period May through September was 68,159 acre- <br />feet, with most of this volume been released during the month of June. Total spill for the month of <br />June was 43,769 acre-feet. The peak spillway release was 2,069 ft3/s on June 12, 1997. <br /> <br />Precipitation was above average for July at 130 percent of the 30-year average, while inflow was <br />just above average at 105 percent. The total April-July runoff was 296,413 acre-feet, which was <br />147 percent of average. Total release to the Colorado River for July was equal to the bypass release <br />for minimum required fish habitat plus a spill of 2,843 acre-feet. The Lake Granby spill totaled <br />68,200 acre-feet for water year 1997, which was the third highest volume since records began in <br />1962. <br /> <br />For August, diversions through Adams Tunnel were below average at 8,765 acre-feet, which was <br />40 percent of average. August precipitation was 3.29 inches, or 181 percent of average, while the <br />natural inflow was estimated at 232 percent of average. <br /> <br />September had natural inflow of 14,367 acre-feet, 236 percent of average, while precipitation was <br />reported to be 2.42 inches, or 181 percent of average. The Adams Tunnel diversions totaled 9,098 <br />acre-feet for the month, which was 54 percent of average. <br />12 <br />