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<br />2003 DETERMINATIONS <br /> <br />The AOP provides guidance regarding reservoir storage and release conditions during the <br />upcoming year, based upon congressionally mandated and authorized storage, release, and delivery <br />criteria and determinations. After meeting these requirements, specific reservoir releases may be <br />modified within these requirements as forecast inflows change in response to climatic variability and <br />to provide additional benefits coincident to the projects' multiple purposes. <br /> <br />Upper Basin Reservoirs <br /> <br />The Operating Criteria provide that the annual plan of operation shall include a determination of the <br />quantity of water considered necessary to be in Upper Basin storage at the end of the water year. <br />Taking into consideration all relevant factors required by the Operating Criteria, and further <br />considering information submitted to Reclamation by the Colorado River Basin States (65 Federal <br />Register 48537, August 8, 2000) which would utilize a value not less than 14.85 million acre-feet <br />(elevation 3,630 feet) for Lake Powell, it is determined that the active storage in Upper Basin <br />reservoirs forecast for September 30,2003, exceeds the storage required under Section 602(a) ofthe <br />Colorado River Basin Project Act under any reasonable range of assumptions which might be <br />applied. Therefore, "602(a) Storage" is not the criterion controlling the release of water from Glen <br />Canyon Dam during water year 2003. <br /> <br />Section 602(a)(3) of the Colorado River Basin Project Act provides for the storage of Colorado <br />River water in Upper Basin reservoirs that the Secretary finds necessary to assure deliveries to <br />comply with Articles III( c) and III ( d) of the 1922 Colorado River Compact, without impairment to <br />the annual consumptive use in the Upper Basin. Pursuant to Section 602(b), as amended, the <br />Secretary is required to make this determination after consultation with the Upper Colorado River <br />Commission and representatives from the three Lower Division States, and after taking into <br />consideration all relevant factors including historic stream flows, the most critical period of record, <br />the probabilities of water supply, and estimated future depletions. Water not required to be so stored <br />will be released from Lake Powell: <br /> <br />to the extent it can be reasonably applied in the States of the Lower Division to the uses <br />specified in Article III ( e) of the 1922 Colorado River Compact, but these releases will not be <br />made when the active storage in Lake Powell is less than the active storage in Lake Mead, <br /> <br />to maintain, as nearly as practicable, active storage in Lake Mead equal to the active storage <br />in Lake Powell, and <br /> <br />to avoid anticipated spills from Lake Powell. <br /> <br />The minimum objective release criterion will control the annual release from Glen Canyon Dam <br />during water year 2003 in accordance with Article 11(2) of the Operating Criteria unless spill <br />avoidance and/or the storage equalization criteria in Article 1I(3) is controlling. Under the most <br />probable inflow scenario, Glen Canyon Dam will release 8.23 maf(IO,150 mcm). <br /> <br />Lower Basin Reservoirs <br /> <br />December 13,2002 <br /> <br />23 <br />