Basin Issues February 1998

• Description: Basin Issues February 1998. Various colorado basins, issues, data, budgets and meetings.
• State: CO
• Date: 2/1/1998
• Title: Basin Issues February 1998
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Meeting

BASIN ISSUES
February,1998
COLORADO RIVER (WESTERN SLOPE OF COLORADO) GENERAL
7/10 Negotiation Issues. Since 1992 several meetings have been held involving the Seven
Colorado River Basin States and the Ten Indian Tribes regarding utilization of the Colorado
River and facilities. These meetings were necessitated as the lower basin states approached full
development of their compact apportionment and began searching for additional water supply.
There has been progress, particularly in regard to solutions for added uses in the lower basin
(California, Nevada and Arizona). It has been the goal of the upper basin states to limit the uses
of water in the lower basin of the Colorado River to the entitlements set forth in the Colorado
River Compact, as further defined by the Boulder Canyon Project Act and in Arizona v
California, and to provide for the continued protection of Colorado River water allocations in the
Upper Basin states. Specific issues include:
1. Getting California to develop a plan to reduce their uses to the 4.4 maf they are
allowed;
2. Implementation of rules governing the "Offstream Storage of Colorado River Water
and Interstate Redemption of Storage Credits in the `Lower Division States'." This
rule involves the exchange of unused apportionment or surplus water among the
three lower basin states;
3. Development of criteria for determining surplus and shortage water conditions on the
Colorado River.
Colorado River \Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Workgroup — Pursuant
the Glen Canyon Dam EIS, the Adaptive Management Process for operations of the Dam
is being implemented by the Adaptive Management Work Group (AMWG) established
under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). A Technical Work Group has been
meeting monthly to address the following issues:
♦ Management and Administration
♦ Monitoring of Resources in the Grand Canyon by the Grand Canyon Monitoring and
Research Center
♦ Implementation of Beach\Habitat Building Flows (Development of long -term criteria and
spike flow releases or flows greater than 45,000 cfs from the dam)
Colorado River Reservoirs Annual Operating Plan Development — The USBR
develops an annual operating plan (AOP) for Colorado River Reservoirs in consultation with the
Colorado River Basin States, appropriate federal agencies, Indian Tribes and other interested
parties. The process starts in March of each year and ends with the release of the AOP on or
about October ls` of each year. The plan is developed pursuant to the "Criteria for Coordinated
Long -Range Operation of the Colorado River Reservoirs" developed pursuant to the "Colorado
River Basin Project Act of September 30, 1968." Each year the Secretary of Interior makes a
number of determinations during the AOP process that can be critical to the water supply
available to each of the seven basin states. Participation is essential to assure the determinations
are based on the best available information and treat each of the states fairly.
5 -Year Review of the Colorado River Coordinated Long Range Operating Criteria -
The criteria are required by the "Colorado River Basin Project Act of September 30,
1968" to be reviewed every 5- years. This is the only real opportunity to make changes to
C;\msoffice \win word \document \basi nissues
December 30, 1997
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