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<br />Water was never pumped into Lake Granby via Windy Gap Pumping Plant during the 1997 water <br />year. Lake Granby ended the water year with 532,455 acre-feet in storage. This storage was <br />118,785 acre-feet above the 30-year average, and 32,900 acre-feet higher than in the previous year. <br />Adams Tunnel diversions totaled 226,800 acre-feet for the water year. This total diversion was <br />1,690 acre-feet below the 30-year average. <br /> <br />Lake Estes <br /> <br />Completed in 1949, Lake Estes (on the Big Thompson River) provides regulating capacity for <br />power purposes. The lake has a total capacity of 3,100 acre-feet and controls the discharge of Estes <br />Power Plant, river inflow, river outflow, and releases of water to the Foothills Power System via <br />Olympus Tunnel (550 ft3/S capacity). <br /> <br />The Estes Power Plant has available three units with a total installed capacity of 45 megawatts, <br />with combined release capability of 1,300 ft3/S. The spillway, located on the right abutment, has <br />five radial gates with a total release capability of 21,200 ft3/s. The center gate has been automated <br />and is controllable from the Loveland Control Center. <br /> <br />During the winter, Project water is diverted through Adams and Olympus Tunnels and routed <br />through the Foothills Power System on its journey to terminal storage in Carter Lake and <br />Horsetooth Reservoir. <br /> <br />The October-January precipitation for the Big Thompson River Basin above Lake Estes was wet at <br />142 percent of average, 4.94 inches, with January precipitation at 238 percent of average. The <br />inflow into Estes Park for this period was above average at 166 percent. The February 1 snowpack <br />water content measurement was 158 percent of average, which resulted in an April-July most <br />probable runoff forecast volume of 85,000 acre-feet for the Big Thompson River above Lake Estes. <br /> <br />Precipitation over the Big Thompson River Basin in February continued well above average at <br />150 percent. March precipitation for the Lake Estes watershed dropped down to 62 percent of the <br />1966-1995 average. April 1 snowpack water content measurements had dropped to 107 percent of <br />average. The April-July most probable runoff forecast volume was decreased to 70,000 acre-feet. <br /> <br />April was extremely wet, with total precipitation at 5.40 inches or 284 percent of average. The <br />inflow was estimated at 165 percent of average. May 1 snow water content measurements <br />increased to 150 percent of average. Therefore, the April-July most probable runoff volume <br />forecast for the Big Thompson Rive above Lake Estes was increased to 90,000 acre-feet. <br /> <br />May was not as wet as the previous month. Precipitation averaged 1.88 inches for the area, or just <br />75 percent of average. Beginning in May, the Big Thompson River inflow, in excess of the <br />minimum required outflow below Lake Estes, was diverted as skim water or priority water through <br />Olympus Tunnel. This operation continued through September, as long as Olympus Tunnel <br />capacity was available. For water year 1997, there were 11,700 acre-feet of skim at Olympus <br />Tunnel, and 58,604 acre-feet of skim at Dille for a total of 70,304 acre-feet skim. However for this <br /> <br />13 <br />