Laserfiche WebLink
agreed to by all of the parties that participated in the mediated negotiations but the <br />decree has not been presented to the water court. <br />The negotiation goals for the Department of Natural Resources were to allow a <br />meaningful right to the Park while preserving storage in the Aspinall Unit's <br />resen~oirs. Major goals of other parties were to maintain the Aspinall Unit's <br />purposes, coordinate the Park's flows with expected Aspinall operational flows for <br />endangered fish, allow a future Programmatic Biological Opinion for the Gunnison <br />River basin, maintain flows through the Gunnison River, prevent any trans-basin <br />transfer of water, maximize flows for fish and other environmental uses, and <br />minimize the risk of flooding to Delta. <br />The proposed decree provides the National Park Service with year round base flows <br />of 30C- cfs, shoulder flows and a 1 day peak flow. This right is limited to a direct flow <br />of water in the Gunnison River in legal and physical availability. The Park has a year <br />round base flow of 300 cfs. The shoulder flows and the peak flow amounts are <br />deterrined by calculations and vary according to the current year hydrologic <br />conditions. A peak flow for a single day of flow at some time between May 1 and <br />June 30 is determined by a formula. This formula calculated a rate of the peak flow <br />in cfs based on the April 1st forecast volume of inflow into Blue Mesa Reservoir for <br />the M;~y to July period. Shoulder flows may exist for the 85 day period between May <br />1 and July 25. These flows are also based on a formula for a rate based on the <br />forecast volume of inflow into Blue Mesa. <br />The e;~cercise of this negotiated reserved right lies within the discretion of the <br />Secretary of the Interior. This discretion allows operational flexibility, coordination <br />with tree Aspinall Unit, and consideration of other factors such as flood control, fish <br />needs, and multiple use management of Department of Interior projects. Therefore, <br />the pr~~posed decree, when entered by the court, will set out the maximum potential <br />extent of the reserved right, not its actual exercise. <br />The reserved right is a direct flow right, with no use of Aspinall storage or retiming as <br />part oi` its decree. However, the Secretary has the ability, at her discretion, to <br />operai:e the Aspinall Unit so as to retime the peak flows. The decree does not <br />include any mandatory operations or operations criteria for the Aspinall Unit. <br />Water Division 5 <br />Divisicn 5 is preparing for the next round of Summit County well enforcement. In <br />early E~ugust the Division 5 office we will re-inspect wells that were previously issued <br />orders. In late August a team of Division 5 staff inspected new areas and identified <br />wells that do not comply with their well permits. The depletions from the estimated <br />1,900 non-conforming wells are relatively small when compared to the groundwater <br />problems of the South Platte, Arkansas, and Republican, but for the locals they are <br />highly visible. <br />Though the Shoshone penstock was repaired and the power plant was back on line <br />earlier this spring, it has had numerous operational issues, and will likely not be <br />capable of placing a call when the time comes. This creates a problem for the <br />6 <br />