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<br />ASSUMPTIONS <br /> <br />Past and potential future changes in the regime of the flow in <br />the Colorado River and its tributaries mandates that assumptions be <br />made to determine the project yield. The basic assumptions used in <br />making the water studies are listed and discussed below. <br /> <br />1. Study Period <br />It was assumed that the 1952-1965 study period adequately <br />rerlects and is representative of water physically available in <br />the various drainage basins studied. This study period contains <br />the critical dry period of the early 1950's and the dry period <br />of 1963 and 1964. An inspection of the flows in the Piney River <br />near State Bridge reveals that the flows ror the study period <br />1952-1965 were 96 percent of the flows that occurred during the <br />1944-1975 period. <br /> <br />2. Senate Document 80 <br />Senate Document 80 specifies the method of operating Green <br />Mountain Reservoir. In this document the 52,000 acre-feet of <br />storage capacity in Green Mountain Reservoir must remain inviolate <br />except ror water to be released from this storage as necessary <br />to replace out of priority Colorado-Big Thompson Project diver- <br />sions. It was assumed that Green Mountain Reservoir is rully <br />operational and that 100,000 acre-feet would be released annually <br />for use on the Western Slope. This assumption is conservative <br />because the operation of Green Mountain Reservoir is now limited <br />by a potential slide area such that only about 60,000 acre-feet <br />can be released for use on the Western Slope. <br /> <br />3. Minimum Streamrlows <br />The following established minimum streamflows were used for <br />fish and wildlife: <br /> <br />-3- <br />