9400

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9400
• Author: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
• Title: Annual Operating Plan For Colorado River Reservoirs.
• USFW Year: 1995.
• USFW - Doc Type: \
• Copyright Material: NO

1
Section 602(a)(3) of the Colorado River Basin Project Act provides for the storage of
Colorado River water in Upper Basin reservoirs that the Secretary of the Interior finds
necessary to assure deliveries to comply with Articles III(c) and III(d) of the 1922 Colorado
River Compact, without impairment to the annual consumptive use in the Upper Basin. The
Secretary is required to make this determination after consultation with the Upper Colorado
River Commission and representatives from the three Lower Division States, and after taking
into consideration all relevant factors including, historic stream flows, the most critical
period of record, the probabilities of water supply, and estimated future depletions. Water
not required to be so stored will be released from Lake Powell:
• to the extent it can be reasonably applied in the States of the Lower Division to the
uses specified in Article III(e) of the 1922 Colorado River Compact, but these releases
will not be made when the active storage in Lake Powell is less than the active
storage in Lake Mead,
• to maintain, as nearly as practicable active storage in Lake Mead equal to the active
storage in Lake Powell, and
• to avoid anticipated spills from Lake Powell.
The minimum objective release of 10,153 MCM, equivalent to 8.230 MAF(S), will be
released from Glen Canyon Dam during water year 1995 in accordance with Article II(2) of
the Operating Criteria unless the equalization criterion in Article II(3) is controlling. If the
equalization criterion is controlling, Glen Canyon Dam will be operated to release sufficient
water during water year 1995 to equalize, as nearly as practical, the active reservoir contents
of Lakes Powell and Mead on September 30, 1995.
Lower Basin Reservoirs
Water shall be released or pumped from Lake Mead to meet the following requirements:
(a) 1944 Mexican Water Treaty obligations;
(b) Reasonable beneficial consumptive use requirements of mainstream users in the Lower
Division States;
(c) Net river losses;
(d) Net reservoir losses;
(e) Regulatory wastes.
The Operating Criteria provide that after the commencement of delivery of mainstream water
by means of the CAP, the extent to which the reasonable beneficial consumptive use
requirement of mainstream users in the Lower Division States is met is to be determined by
the Secretary of the Interior. The reasonable beneficial consumptive use requirements are
(s) units of volume used in this document are million cubic meters (MCM), followed by
equivalent million acre feet (MAF)
16