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UPPER COLORADO RIVER RECOVERY IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM COORDINATED RESERVOIR OPERATIONS 1997 OPERATIONS REPORT 1. Introduction The Water Acquisition Committee (WAC) of the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program (the Program) proposed the Coordinated Reservoir Operations Study (CROS), in 1994. This is the first year of joint reservoir operations with the reservoir operators [Colorado River Water Conservation District, Denver Water, Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, Southeastern Water Conservancy District, City of Aurora and City of Colorado Springs and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau)], State Engineer's Office (SEO), Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB), the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Weather Service (NWS). The objectives were identification and evaluation of potential opportunities to coordinate bypasses of inflows from various reservoirs to enhance habitat in the 15-Mile Reach of the Colorado River. These bypasses would likely have passed through the reservoirs during the runoff period. Ccoordinated reservoir operations simply moves those bypasses to the peak of the runoff hydrograph. The focus of this effort is to enhance spring peak flows, which are important to spawning and improvement of aquatic food sources. Coordination and modification of operations were voluntary and occurred within current authorizations and guidelines and without affecting project yields to federal and non-federal reservoirs. The initial study began in March 1995 with the establishment of a core study team representing large reservoir owner/operators and major water management entities in the basin. The first efforts of the team were to clarify the objectives of the study, create a Memorandum of Understanding committing the entities to the study effort, and develop an outline of tasks to guide the direction of the study effort towards a coordinated reservoir operation process. This initial study provided the following: • Analysis of potential operational alternatives • Identification of constraints • Listing of issues to be addressed by the Recovery Implementation Program (RIP) • Process of coordination to enhance flows in the Reach. One of the early efforts of the team was to address creation of a unified accounting system for the Colorado River to account for contributions and facilitate coordination of releases. Current accounting on the river is done in a somewhat fragmented manner between major operating entities. The team is currently developing a unified accounting system with the Water Division 5 Engineer's office and in coordination with the Colorado River Decision Support System (CRDSS) effort to ensure that accounting logic is consistent. Major facilities with potential for coordination have been identified and a list of parameters influencing their operations has been assembled. These parameters include physical and operational parameters, traditional operations, current commitments, and authorization, organizational and legal guidelines for the facilities. This effort has helped define the institutional boundaries and constraints on coordination and discretionary operations.