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of 750 cfs. The State Engineer would then curtail diversions of upstream junior rights on the <br />Gunnison River or its tributaries. <br />Calls affect water users along the river and its tributaries from Gunnison and Hinsdale Counties <br />to Mesa County. On streams upstream from Blue Mesa Reservoir, junior water users were <br />historically shut down by calls of the Redlands Diversion Dam or Gunnison Tunnel. Calls on <br />the river have decreased since the Aspinall Unit began operations in the 1960's. This is because <br />the Unit stores water in high flow periods and releases the water to increase river flows in <br />normally low water periods as was shown in Figure 2. Senior water right holders, such as for <br />the Redlands Diversion Dam, have had more dependable water supplies and junior water rights <br />have been protected from being "called out." <br />In the future, whether or not the alternatives outlined in this assessment are implemented, it is <br />expected that there will be more administration of water rights and uses in the Gunnison Basin <br />due to a variety of factors: <br />• Completion of a Biological Opinion on Aspinall Unit Operations - This will be prepared in <br />2-3 years and will recommend operation changes to help protect and recover endangered fish <br />species downstream in the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers. The Opinion will likely call for <br />higher spring releases and lower winter releases to more closely simulate natural seasonal <br />flow patterns. This would be more like historic conditions, when calls were more frequent. <br />• Quantification of the reserved water right established for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison <br />National Monument - This right dates back to establishment of the Monument in 1933, but <br />its quantity in flow (cfs) has not been determined. The date of this water right makes it <br />senior to Blue Mesa storage rights. When quantified, a defined flow pattern or a set quantity <br />of water may be required to be released from the Aspinall Unit to the river as it flows <br />through the Monument. Calls on this right may affect water available to upstream junior <br />water rights in the Upper Gunnison Basin and water storage in Blue Mesa Reservoir. <br />• Future sales of Aspinall Unit water and potential development of proposed water projects <br />upstream from the Redlands Diversion Dam - Currently proposed projects include the . <br />Dominguez Reservoir Project between Delta and Grand Junction, and transmountain <br />diversion projects that would divert Gunnison flows to the eastern slope of Colorado. <br />In summary, existing conditions provide for storage and release of water by the Aspinall Unit <br />in a manner that has increased the supply of water to water users throughout the basin. <br />Commitments of water to benefit endangered fish have also been made. <br />18