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��!1ENT F <br /> WP''~ United States Department of the Interior <br /> A; BUREAU OF RECLAMATION <br /> .;a 3 ,�, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240 <br /> IN REPLY <br /> REFER TO: 102/430 F E B 0 3 1984 <br /> 0 <br /> Mr. J. William McDonald FEB 0 9 �9��4 <br /> Director, Colorado Conservation <br /> Board _ C°L©RA r, �v1/41 n� L, <br /> 1313 Sherman Street �lS.,Al,„ i��� _F, <br /> Denver, Colorado 80203 _JAR° <br /> Dear Mr. McDonald: <br /> The Colorado River Basin Project Act (Public Law 90-537) requires that <br /> we present an annual report on the operation of the Colorado River <br /> Basin covering actual operations in the preceding year and projected <br /> operations in the current year. This letter is to formally notify you <br /> of our operating plan for 1984. The report for 1983-84 will be <br /> transmitted to you, the other Basin States, and the Congress upon <br /> completion on or about April 1. <br /> In October 1983, we presented our proposed plan of operations for 1984 <br /> to representatives of the Colorado River Basin States. That plan was <br /> based on the need to draw the reservoir system down after the high <br /> runoff experienced in 1983 to facilitate repairs to the Glen Canyon <br /> Dam spillways and to other flood damaged facilities. Large releases <br /> were to continue from the reservoirs through at least March 1984 <br /> regardless of what the monthly runoff forecasts were so that we would <br /> have about 8.0 million acre-feet (maf) of space in the system by <br /> April 1, 1984. We also targeted a system space of 7.5 maf on <br /> January 1, 1985. <br /> In November 1983, our proposed 1984 operating plan was discussed in <br /> detail at a meeting of technical personnel from the States and the <br /> Bureau of Reclamation. A considerable portion of that meeting was <br /> spent discussing our proposed January 1 , 1985, target space of 7.5 maf. <br /> Reclamation personnel presented the benefits of such extra storage <br /> space in terms of greater operational flexibility, reduced risk of <br /> high. flood flows, reduced risk of powerplant bypasses, and increased <br /> time to complete repairs to flood damaged facilities. We also pre- <br /> sented studies showing that such extra storage space presented no risk <br /> to the long-term water supply functions of the reservoir system. The <br /> State representatives indicated that a decision on such a target <br /> storage for January 1, 1985, was not needed at this time and should be <br />