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<br />OPERATION SKIM <br /> <br />Big Thompson River water in excess of the minimum requirements, as recommended by the State <br />of Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service, is diverted at Lake <br />Estes into the Foothills System for power generation. This operation is known as operation "skim." <br />The amount diverted depends on the flow at the Big Thompson River and the tributaries above <br />Lake Estes, importations through the Adams Tunnel, and the capacity of the Foothills System. <br /> <br /> <br />The water taken from the Big Thompson River can be used for power generation immediately. It <br />can also be. held in storage and replaced to the river with water from other sections of the system, <br />depending on the power requirements. In general, water taken from the Big Thompson River at a <br />variable rate, on a given date, is returned to the river at a flat rate, on the following day. <br /> <br />Operation "skim", and storage of surplus water from the Big Thompson River in project reservoirs <br />are managed according to the AOP and coordinated among the Northern Colorado Water <br />Conservation District, the Office of the Big Thompson River Commissioner and the Resources <br />Division, Bureau of Reclamation. <br /> <br />During water year 1997, a total of 11,700 acre-feet of water was diverted through Olympus Tunnel <br />for "skim" operations. Dille Tunnel diversions totaled 61,400 acre-feet for water year 1997. <br /> <br />26 <br />