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UPDATING THE HOOVER DAM DOCUMENTS On June 9, 1975, the Department requested the comments of the Basin States and interested parties on his formal 5-year review of the Operating Criteria. Notice of the review was published in the Federal Register on July 7, 1975, Volume 40, page 28499. On January 20, 1976, the Department of the Interior announced that the criteria established in 1970 for operation of the Colorado River reservoirs would be continued without change. This determination was an- nounced after a review of the operations was made in coopera8on with the Governors of the Basin States and other interested entities (see Interior News Release, January 20, 1976, Lower Colorado Region). For the 1977 operating year, because of prospects for low runoff; i.e., inflow to Lake Powell during April- Judy of 2.2 maf or 28 percent of normal, Lake Powell releases were set at 8.23 maf as compared to the 9.2 maf release under normal conditions. As stated in the Secretary's Eighth Annual Report on the Operation of the Colorado River, Issued in February 1979, "...the plan of operation during the current year (1978-1979) is based on a minimal release of 8,230,000 acre-feet of water from Lake Powell...." However, because of anticipated high runoff in this water year, greater releases may be expected. Storage in Lake Powell on September 30, 1978, was 4.3 maf less than the storage in Lake Mead as of that date. 0. Ancillary Problems Among the ancillary problems posed by the Operating Criteria were the effect of fluctuations in Lake Mead on the bass spawning season and on boating. Operations under the criteria, conversely, were affected by such matters as the Rainbow Bridge litigation and the 1974 reductions in water orders of The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The latter also impacted the production of power and energy. The active storage in Lakes Mead and Powell for 1970 and subsequent years appears in Chapter VI - Fill- ing Criteria, part J. A table showing actual historic flow at Lee Ferry for water years ending September 30, 1953, through September 30, 1977, follows: (See page 41, Twenty-Ninth Annual Report of the Upper Colorado River Commisison, September 30, 1977.) A-11