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to the original benefits of Green Mountain Reservoir operations under the authorizing legislation <br />of Senate Document 80) and by other users with water rights that were perfected by use after <br />October 15, 1977 (The Contract Pool). This pool was later limited to 20,000 acre-feet. <br />Since the initiation of the new operating policy, the division engineer has administered the <br />releases from the historic user pool to benefit all uses that had been perfected by use prior to <br />January 24, 1984, the effective date of the new operating policy, as published in the Federal <br />Register. However, for future operations, the beneficiaries of the historic user pool will be <br />limited to those uses perfected prior to the specified October 15, 1977 date. These respective <br />inclusion dates will be recognized in the historical versus baseline model scenarios in the <br />CRDSS Upper Colorado River Model. <br />Storage releases from Green Mountain Reservoir are released through the hydroelectric power <br />plant at rates of flow up to 1,726 cfs (WDID 360881). Although it carries its own direct flow <br />water right, the power right has not been exercised historically to place an administrative call <br />against upstream junior water rights. The USBR has historically operated the reservoir to <br />maintain a minimum streamflow below the dam at 60 cfs. The Colorado Water Conservation <br />Board has appropriated instream flow rights for the reach of the Blue River from Green <br />Mountain Dam to its confluence with the Upper Colorado River. These instream flow rights are <br />60 cfs for the period May 1 through July 15 and 85 cfs for the remainder of the year. It is the <br />current policy of the USBR to honor these instream flow rights. There is also a general <br />agreement that abypass/release to maintain these minimum flows will not count against the <br />allowable fill in Green Mountain Reservoir; therefore in the CRDSS Upper Colorado River <br />Model, the bypass should be reflected as an operational right with a priority just senior to the <br />1935 storage rights for the reservoir. <br />2.1.2 Historical Operation of Green Mountain Reservoir <br />From the time construction of Green Mountain Reservoir was completed (1948) until 1984, the <br />reservoir was operated in strict accordance with the following provisions of Senate Document <br />80. <br />Whenever the flow in the Upper Colorado River at the present site of said Shoshone <br />Diversion Dam is less than 1, 250 cfs, there shall, upon demand of the authorized irrigation <br />division engineer or other State authority having charge of the distribution of waters of this <br />stream, be released from said reservoir [Green Mountain] as part of said 52, 000 acre feet, <br />the amount necessary with other waters available, to fill the vested appropriations of water <br />up to the amount concurrently being diverted or withheld from such vested appropriations by <br />the project for diversion to the eastern slope. <br />Upper Colorado River Basin Information 2-6 <br />