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<br />mc.del p~'everlts ~'eservoir corltents f~-om becomirlg negative by anticipating <br /> <br />the amourlt of evaporatiorl which would occur shc.uld the reservc.ir be <br /> <br />drained in any period. This quantity of water is reserved for evaporation <br /> <br />in each month. Annual evaporation at Blue Mesa only averages about 8,000 <br /> <br />acre feet, and does not significantly influence the study results. <br /> <br />Derivation of evaporation rate and reservoir volume/area relationships are <br /> <br />described in Section 1 of the Technical Report. <br /> <br />I. Fish Flows <br /> <br />Historically, Blue Mesa storage releases have been made to maintairl <br /> <br />a 200 cfs minimum flow for the Gold Medal trout fishery in the 29-mile <br /> <br />reach. It has beerl proposed that the releases be irlcreased so as to <br /> <br />maintain a 300 cfs minimum flow for these purposes. <br /> <br />It has also been proposed that Blue Mesa storage releases be made to <br /> <br />maintain a 2000 cfs minimum flow for endangered fishes in 9 years out of <br /> <br />10 at Westwater near the state line on the Colorado River below the Mouth <br /> <br />of the Gunnison. Preliminary data indicate that under projected levels of <br /> <br />development, Blue Mesa releases must be increased from historic levels up <br /> <br />to 500 cfs for as long as September through August in order to maintain <br /> <br />the 2000 cfs flow at Westwater. If Blue Mesa releases are to be increased <br /> <br />by 100 cfs to maintain the minimum flow for the trout fishery, an <br /> <br />additional increase of 400 cfs is necessary to make a 500 cfs release for <br /> <br />endangered fishes in August and September. <br /> <br />The maximum total <br /> <br />WBLA, Inc. 1909 Brc.adway, #3, Boulder, Colorado 80302 <br /> <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />"J'j <br />L..'"- <br />