Upper Colorado River Commission Meetings 2005 Itinery

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acre -feet by the end of the 2005 water year, a gain in this short period of nearly 5 million acre- feet., Moreover, if we receive average runoff for the remainder of this year and next year - not a certainty, but our hope - Lake Powell and Lake Mead are projected to have roughly equal contents by September 2006. Equalizing the contents of these two reservoirs would certainly be seen as good for users in both basins, reducing the risk of future shortages. C. Recommendations received from the Upper & Lower Basins Against this backdrop, the Department conducted two public consultation meetings to review this year's hydrology on the Colorado River with the Colorado River Basin States and the other members of the Colorado River Management 'Work Group. In addition, we encouraged the Basin States to provide the Department with a consensus recommendation on the issue of whether an adjustment of the release amount from Glen Canyon was warranted this water year. Regrettably — after a significant amount of effort — the Basin States were unable to reach a consensus recommendation. Looking at the same hydrological information, the Upper Basin States collectively recommended that prudent water management argued for a reduction in this year's Glen Canyon release amount. Conversely, the Lower Basin States collectively recommended against such a reduction. While the Basin States were unable to reach consensus on the May - September release volume, I believe there is a better understanding on some key issues among the Governor's representatives. I am convinced that the hard work that the Basin representatives put in will pay dividends in the coming months and years. d. Upcoming steps ordered by Secretary Norton On May 2nd, Secretary Norton issued her decision regarding the 2005 mid -year review. I've attached that decision to my written materials, which are available at the sign -in desk.3 The Secretary's decision contains four key points: ` Reclamation's 24 -Month Study prepared on August 10, 2004 showed the following September 30, 2005 Lake Powell and Lake Mead projections based on "most probable runoff": Lake Powell 9.253 maf (38% full), Lake Mead 12.528 maf (48% full), with a combined total of 21.781 maf (43% full). Reclamation's most recent 24 -month Study, prepared on May 10, 2005, shows the following projections based on "most probable runoff' for September 30, 2005: Lake Powell 11.762 maf (48% full), Lake Mead 15.012 maf (58% full), with a combined total of 26.774 maf (53% full). This increase in combined capacity of the two reservoirs from 43 % to 53 % represents an increase in volume of nearly five million acre -feet. In addition, both the Secretary's May 2nd decision and my remarks are available through Reclamation's web site at httpJ/www.usbr.gov. Prepared Remarks - Keynote Address 7 Law of the Colorado River