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to load centers is a cooperative effort of existing public and private utilities and the <br />USBR. The combined power system of the Aspinall Unit and participating projects is <br />operated jointly by the Department of Energy's Western Area Power Administration and <br />the USBR's Power Operations Center in Montrose. The three Aspinall Unit power plants <br />have a total installed capacity of 208,000 kilowatts (KW) and produce an average of 775 <br />million KW hours of electric energy annually. <br />Pursuant to a 1975 exchange agreement (discussed later), releases from storage are made <br />to the UVWUA's Uncompahgre Project as part of an exchange with Taylor Park <br />Reservoir. There is also an implied understanding that the United States will subordinate <br />the storage decrees for the Aspinall Unit reservoirs to additional development of water <br />resources in the Upper Gunnison River basin above Blue Mesa Reservoir to the extent of <br />60,000 acre-feet of annual consumptive use. <br />The following tables summarize the Aspinall Unit physical facilities and water rights. <br />Aspinall Unit Physical Features <br />Power Reservoir Storage <br />Reservoir Name (acre-feet) <br />Capacity (kV~ <br />Capacity Active <br />Structure <br />Name <br />Blue Mesa: <br />Storage, ac-ft <br />Power, cfs <br />Storage, ac-ft <br />Morrow Point: <br />Storage, ac-ft <br />Power, cfs <br />Crystal: <br />Storage, ac-ft <br />Power, cfs <br />Blue Mesa 60,000 940,700 <br />Morrow Point 120,000 117,165 <br />Crystal 28,000 25,236 <br />Aspinall Unit Water Rights <br />Structure Appropriation Administration <br />ID Date Number <br />748,430 <br />42,090 <br />12,891 <br />Decreed Amounts <br />(acre-feet) <br />Absolute Conditional <br />3 532 3 93 98.00000 125,192.204 <br />533 11/13/1957 39398.00000 2,500 <br />3532 40266.39398 <br />3545 11/13/1957 39398.00000 119,053 <br />692 39398.00000 2,500 <br />3578 39398.00000 30,000 <br />11/13/1957 <br />578 39398.00000 3,000 <br />2.4.4. General Operation of Aspinall Storage Unit <br />815,562.796 <br />122,702 <br />In addition to allowing for sufficient storage capacity to accommodate spring runoff, the <br />winter operation of Blue Mesa Reservoir is intended to keep the storage levels <br />sufficiently low to minimize icing problems at the upper end of Blue Mesa Reservoir. <br />Accordingly, the releases from Blue Mesa are regulated in order to draw the storage <br />Gunnison River Basin Information 2-12 <br />