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(3) Ensuring that sufficient water remains in the historic user pool at the end of each irrigation <br />season to meet winter demands of historic user pool beneficiaries; and (4) Providing a <br />methodology to determine the amount of the historic user pool that is surplus to the anticipated <br />needs of the historic user pool beneficiaries and would therefore be available for delivery for <br />other beneficial uses in the Upper Colorado River basin, including augmentation of flows in the <br />critical 15-Mile Reach for protection and recovery of endangered fish species. As of March <br />1996, the studies performed by the USBR have indicated that amount of water that needs to be <br />reserved for historic user pool beneficiaries upstream of the Shoshone power plant maybe only <br />about 15,000 acre-feet annually (out of the 66,000 acre-feet in the historic user pool). The <br />reduction is largely a reflection of replacing only the consumptive use as opposed to headgate <br />diversion requirements. The USBR and division engineer have developed a preliminary rule <br />curve for the release of water from the historic user pool, consistent with the above objectives. <br />Consolidated Case Nos. 2782, 5016 and 5017 (the Blue River Decree). In this 1955 <br />adjudication, the relative priorities of the storage rights and hydroelectric rights for Green <br />Mountain Reservoir and the upstream rights at Dillon Reservoir and the Continental-Hoosier <br />System (Colorado Springs) were specified. <br />Continental Hoosier System 77 cfs August 5, 1929 <br />Green Mountain Reservoir 154,645 acre-feet August 1, 1935 <br />Green Mountain Hydro 1,726 cfs August 1, 1935 <br />Green Mountain Senior Refill 6,315 acre-feet August 1, 1935 <br />Montezuma Tunnel (Roberts Tunnel) 788 cfs June 24, 1946 <br />Dillon Reservoir 252,678 acre-feet June 24, 1946 <br />Continental-Hoosier System 400 cfs May 13, 1948 <br />Continental-Hoosier Storage 5,306 acre-feet May 13, 1948 <br />In this decree, Colorado Springs and Denver obtained the right to divert and store water at their <br />upstream facilities on an out-of-priority basis, if it can be determined that Green Mountain <br />Reservoir will likely fill. Because the cities have storage in the upper Blue River basin, they are <br />in a position to repay Green Mountain in the event the latter did not fill. This agreement to allow <br />out-of-priority upstream diversions is assessed only against the senior storage decree at Green <br />Mountain and does not apply to an administrative call placed by the Green Mountain direct flow <br />hydroelectric right because the cities agreed to pay power interference charges to offset the <br />potential impacts of upstream diversions as against the hydroelectric right. <br />When Denver incurs a liability to repay Green Mountain Reservoir for water stored out-of- <br />priority at Dillon Reservoir, provisions of the Blue River Decree, as more specifically described <br />in a 1964 Stipulation and Agreement, allow Denver to replace the water owed by substituting <br />releases from its Williams Fork Reservoir. In 1991, the agreements were again modified to allow <br />use of the proposed Wolford Mountain Reservoir as an additional source of substitution supply <br />for waters owed to Green Mountain Reservoir by Denver. Theses agreements also make <br />reference to a requirement for Denver to maintain a pool of 1,000 acre-feet in Dillon Reservoir, <br />which must be released to Green Mountain Reservoir, to the extent necessary to maintain the <br />flow in the Blue River below Dillon Dam at 50 cfs. <br />Upper Colorado River Basin Information 2-8 <br />