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<br />93. The Court recognizes that it ordered that operative facts <br />material to water availability would to be determined as of April <br />15, 1991. (Pretrial Order of January 8, 1991) The Court I s <br />Judgment in the above diligence case (88-CW-183) was entered after <br />April 15, 1991, so technically the cancellations ordered by said <br />Judgment should not be considered. However, the Court concludes <br />that it will recognize the cancellations for the purpose of the <br />present decree. This is done to try to recognize what is actually <br />the "oresent condition of the river" at the time of trial. (Pre- <br />trial Order of May 6, 1991) Also, it was the assessment of <br />Opposer's expert, Mr. Spronk, that in view of other conditional <br />rights which were modelled, the inclusion of the East River Canal <br />and the Taylor River Canal would have no significant affect on the <br />yield of the Union Park Project anyway. (See i148 below) Further, <br />even after cancelling the storage right for the Ohio City Reser- <br />voir, the Upper Gunnison Project still holds conditional storage <br />rights for 88,083 acre feet, and this exceeds the 60,000 acre-foot <br />capacity anticipated by the CRSPA le9islation (even without <br />considering the Fruitland Mesa Project and the Bostwick Park <br />Project). (See it 29(b) and (d) above) <br /> <br />C. APPLICANT'S HYDROPOWER DECREE 82-CW-340: <br /> <br />94. A conditional decree which is very. important to the <br />analysis in the present cases is one granted for the Union Park <br />Reservoir in case 82-CW-340. This decree was obtained by NECO, the <br />predecessor in interest to the Applicant herein, and is now owned <br />by the Applicant in this case. The decree approved a reservoir <br />with a storage capacity of 325,000 acre feet of water to be used <br />for hydropower purposes, and other non-consumptive purposes. (The <br />Court . recognizes that in case 85-CW-96, 4450 acre feet of the <br />decree obtained by NECO was transferred to another reservoir--see <br />!6(a) above.) The reservoir claimed by the Applicant in the present <br />cases (86-CW-226 and 88-CW-178) actually is an enlargement of the <br />reservoir site claimed in 82-CW-340. The Decree in 82-CW-340 <br />contemplates that sources of water for the Union Park Reservoir <br />would be flows from Lottis Creek (on which it would be constructed) <br />and Willow Creek, as well as water pumped from the Taylor Park <br />Reservoir. The decree provides further that water will be released <br />from Union Park Reservoir through its primary pumping/generating <br />facilities and into Taylor Park Reservoir in generating mode, where <br />said water shall again be diverted by the same facilities in <br />pumping mode into Union Park Reservoir for reuse as part of the <br />hydroelectric power project. <br /> <br />95. Based upon a stioulation between NECO and Opposer Perkins <br />Sams, the Decree also provides for the owner of Union Park <br />Reservoir to undertake an active and conscious effort to work with <br />the United States Bureau of Reclamation to maintain minimum and <br />maximum flows in Taylor River below Taylor Park Reservoir. These <br />stream flows are to be maintained by virtue of releases from Union <br />Park Reservoir into Taylor Park Reservoir. The owner of Union Park <br />Reservoir must also maintain minimum and maximum flows in Lottis <br />Creek directly through releases from Union Park Reservoir. (See: <br />i123 above re the effect of said stipulation.) <br /> <br />41 <br />