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<br />A public meeting on Navajo Reservoir operations will held on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 at 1 :00 PM <br />in Farmington, New Mexico. At this meeting, review oflast autumn and winter reservoir operations, <br />and plans for next spring and summer 2004 operations will be discussed. These are open forum <br />discussions on the operation of Navajo Reservoir with many interested groups participating. Anyone <br />interested in the general operation of the reservoir is encouraged to attend. Please contact Pat Page <br />in Reclamation's Durango, Colorado Office at (970) 385-6560 for information about these meetings <br />or the daily operation of Navajo Reservoir. <br /> <br />Lake Powell <br /> <br />Glen Canyon Dam Operations - Experimental Flows <br /> <br />In April 2004, a volume of 650,000 acre-feet is scheduled to be released from Lake Powell, which is <br />an average of 10,900 cubic feet per second (cfs). On Mondays through Fridays in April, daily <br />fluctuations due to load following will likely vary between a low of about 7,800 cfs (during late <br />evening and early morning off-peak hours) to a high of about 13,800 cfs (during late afternoon and <br />early evening on-peak hours). On Saturdays, releases will likely vary between a low of about 7,800 <br />cfs during off-peak hours to a high of about 12,500 cfs during on-peak hours. On Sundays, releases <br />will likely vary between a low of about 7,800 cfs during off-peak hours to a high of about 12,000 cfs <br />during on-peak hours. This release pattern is shown in the following graph. It should be <br />noted,however, that actual releases will occasionally deviate somewhat from those displayed due to <br />real-time power system considerations. <br /> <br />A volume of 600,000 acre-feet is scheduled to be released in May which is an average release of <br />9,760 cfs. Because of the draw down condition of Lake Powell, releases from Lake Powell in water <br />year 2004 are being scheduled to meet the minimum release objective of8.23 million acre-feet. This. <br />is consistent with the requirements of the Criteria for Coordinated Long-Range Operation of <br />Colorado River Reservoirs. <br /> <br />Daily high fluctuating releases from Glen Canyon Dam, as part ofthe Glen Canyon Dam <br />experimental flows, were implemented from January through March 2004. Releases, each day, <br />varied between a low of 5,000 cfs to a high of 20,000 cfs (except for Sundays in February and <br />March) throughout this period. The experimental flows will not change the total volume of water to <br />be released from Lake Powell in water year 2004. <br /> <br />The January through March high fluctuating releases are intended to benefit the endangered <br />humpback chub. Scientists have recognized that the humpback chub population has been in general <br />decline since highly fluctuating flows were curtailed in November of 1991. Those flows helped <br />keep the non-native fish, especially the rainbow and brown trout, in check. The trout are thought to <br />prey upon and compete with native fish such as the endangered humpback chub. This is the second <br />year of high fluctuating releases as part of the experimental flows. High fluctuating releases were <br />first implemented in January through March of2003. <br /> <br />The experimental flows from Glen Canyon Dam received environmental clearances in December <br />2002. The flows were analyzed in an environmental assessment in accordance with the National <br />Environmental Policy Act. The experimental flows are the result of ongoing studies by scientists <br />from the United States Geological Survey and were recommended by the Glen Canyon Dam <br />Adaptive Management Work Group, a Federal advisory committee. The experimental flows address <br />