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• <br /> • Mr. J. William McDonald 3 <br /> Unless the runoff forecast drops substantially in the coming months, <br /> reservoir releases through March will be dictated by Corps of <br /> Engineers flood control regulations and will be greater than the <br /> releases called for in the operating plan under upper quartile runoff. <br /> Based on the January forecast and current releases, we expect to have <br /> about 9.0 maf of system storage space on April 1 to handle the 1984 <br /> spring runoff. <br /> As part of our continuing effort to improve our operations of the <br /> reservoir system, we are planning to install 18 data collection plat- <br /> forms (DCP's) at key existing reservoir and streamgaging stations by <br /> April 1984. Reclamation has DCP's available and will provide the <br /> approximate $108,000 needed for installation. We will work closely <br /> with the Geological Survey since that agency operates the reservoir <br /> and streamgaging stations at which the DCP's are to be installed. The <br /> DCP's will provide us with real-time operational data through our <br /> direct readout ground station in Denver, Colorado. The data will be <br /> shared with the other agencies involved in the Colorado River <br /> Forecasting Service, and thus will be valuable not only to us in our <br /> reservoir operations but also to the National Weather Service for <br /> their forecasting of streamflow. <br /> We do believe that under the current conditions of full reservoirs and <br /> • surplus water in years of average or above runoff, storage space in <br /> the reservoir system in excess of the minimum required flood control <br /> space is highly desirable. Such extra space would provide us with the <br /> operational flexibility needed to keep water levels low enough to <br /> facilitate the repair of facilities damaged during the 1983 high <br /> water. We would like to work with the States and other interested <br /> parties in studying alternatives to help determine how to operate the <br /> reservoir system most effectively in 1985 and future years. Enclosed <br /> for your review is a copy of our plan of study for those alternatives. <br /> We expect that results of those studies will be available for use in <br /> formulation of the 1985 operating plan. At the same time, we would <br /> have a more definite schedule of needed repair work and would know <br /> what the 1984 spring runoff actually is. Based on those factors, we <br /> would at that time be able to consult with representatives of the <br /> Basin States in determining how much extra storage space in the reser- <br /> voir system should be included in our 1985 operating plan. <br /> We would be pleased to meet with you to discuss our plan of study or <br /> any other concerns that you have about our 1984 operations. We <br />