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<br />". <br /> <br />reservoir elevation is projected to decline to about 6023.5 by March of2006. The Colorado River <br />Forecast Center has provided an outlook forecast for water year 2006 that is 78% of normal. This <br />outlook forecast is the basis for the current 24 month study operation at Flaming Gorge. <br /> <br />The next "Flaming Gorge Working Group" meeting is to be held in April 2006 but has not been <br />scheduled at this time. The Working Group is a forum for information exchange between <br />Reclamation and all other parties associated with the operation of Flaming Gorge Reservoir. The <br />public is encouraged to attend and express their concerns and interests with regard to the operation <br />of Flaming Gorge Reservoir. For more information about the Working Group please contact Ed <br />Vidmar at 801-379-1182. <br /> <br />ASPINALL - August unregulated inflow into Blue Mesa Reservoir was 53,000 acre-feet or 83 <br />percent of average. Precipitation during August was recorded at 120 percent of average. The <br />current inflow rate into Blue Mesa Reservoir is about 500 cfs and reservoir releases are averaging <br />about 1,400 cfs. Blue Mesa's present elevation is 7493.87 feet, which corresponds to a storage <br />content of about 612,000 acre-feet. <br /> <br />Currently, releases from Crystal are set at 1,400 cfs. The Gunnison Diversion Tunnel is taking about <br />900 cfs, which leaves about 500 cfs in the Gunnison River below the diversion tunnel. We plan keep <br />the river steady at this flow rate for the remainder ofthe summer season and into the early winter <br />months. However, we may reduce these rates even further is conditions continue to be dry. <br />Conservation is now the operational mode for keeping reservoir storage up until next spring runoff. <br /> <br />The last meeting of the "Aspinall Unit Working Group" was held on Thursday, August 25,2005 at <br />1 :00 PM at the National Park Service Elk Creek Visitor Center at Blue Mesa Reservoir. At this <br />meeting, review oflast spring and summer reservoir operations, and plans for this autumn 2005 <br />operations were discussed. These meetings are open forum discussions on the Aspinall Unit <br />reservoir operations with many interested groups participating. Anyone needing further information <br />about these meetings should contact Dan Crabtree in the Grand Junction Area Office at (970) 248- <br />0652. <br /> <br />NA VAJO - The Bureau of Reclamation decreased the release from Navajo Reservoir from 750 <br />cubic feet per second (cfs) to 500 cfs on Tuesday, September 13,2005, at 9:00 a.m. Releases are <br />made for the authorized purposes of the Navajo Unit, and to attempt to maintain a target base flow <br />through the endangered fish critical habitat reach ofthe San Juan River (Farmington to Lake <br />Powell). <br /> <br />The San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program recommends a target base flow of 500 <br />cfs through the critical habitat area. The target base flow is calculated as the weekly average of <br />gaged flows throughout the critical habitat area, therefore daily flows of less than 500 cfs may occur <br />at some gages. The public will be notified as changes occur to releases. Reclamation will continue <br />to closely monitor the hydrologic conditions in the basin. <br /> <br />Precipitation for the month of August was recorded at 130 percent of average. Unregulated inflow <br />into Navajo Reservoir during the month of August was 31,000 acre-feet, or 69 percent of average. <br />Currently, the daily reservoir inflow is averaging about 600 cfs while reservoir releases are set at 500 <br /> <br />