7423

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7423
• Author: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
• Title: Glen Canyon Environmental Studies Draft Report, September 1987.
• USFW Year: 1987.
• USFW - Doc Type: Washington, D.C.
• Copyright Material: NO

Power production: This function. has
effect ,on the daily operation of the

a substantial
dam but, as

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Meetina "602(a)" storaae reauirements. section 602(a)
of the CRSP Act requires that the system of reservoirs
in the Upper Basin annually achieve water storage
sufficient to make the minimum 8.23 maf delivery to the
Lower Basin without impairing Upper Basin uses. As the
largest CRSP reservoir, Lake Powell must annually
contribute the major share of storage toward this goal.
The Secretary of the Interior is required annually to
prepare a plan of operations for the CRSP reservoirs
which specifies the amount of storage required by Sep-
tember 30 to meet the "602(a)" requirement. However,
to date no official specification of the amount of
storage required has been made. Instead, each year the
annual operating plan contains a statement that the
"active storage in Upper Basin reservoirs forecast for
September 30, 19..., exceeds the '602(a)' Storage
requirement under any reasonable range of assumptions
Therefore, the accumulation of '602(a)' Storage is
not the criterion governing the release of water during
the current year." The role of "602(a)" storage in
determining the operating level of Lake Powell will be
discussed further below.

Maintainina Lake Mead storaae eaual to or areater than
Lake Powell storaae. In order to ensure that Colorado
River Basin water supplies are apportioned equally
between the Upper and Lower Basins, the CRSP Act
stipulates that releases from Lake Powell will be made
to main~ain, as nearly as practical, an amount of
storage in Lake Mead equal to that in Lake Powell.

Avoidina spills (flood releases). Releases can be made
from Lake Powell to avoid "spilling," that is, to avoid
having to release water in any way other than through
the powerplant. This means that powerplant releases
can be increased at any time (within generator
capacity) to avoid having to make non-powerplant
releases later.

In addition to the primary objectives of water storage
and water delivery, several incidental objectives exist
for the operation of the Colorado River dams as defined
in the Operating criteria. These incidental objectives
include: (1) power production, (2) flood control,
(3) river regulation, (4) water quality control, (5)
recreation, (6) enhancement of fish and wildlife
resources, and (7) enhancement of other environmental
factors.

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