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Arkansas RPier Water Needs Assessment - Section 1. Executive Summary Analysis). This water is delivered to Colorado Springs via the Otero Pipeline, which takes water directly from Twin Lakes and transports it over Trout Creek Pass to Colorado Springs Utilities' distribution system. Finally, Colorado Springs obtains water supplies via the Fountain Valley Conduit, a pipeline system that starts at Pueblo Reservoir and runs northward toward Colorado Springs. If Colorado Springs chooses this delivety route for water, rathet than the Otero Pipeline from Twin Lakes, then the main stem may see additional flows as the water is delivered to Pueblo Reservoir for placement in the conduit. Colorado Springs Utilities and the City of Aurora have also purchased water rights from lower Arkansas Valley farms, and have received permis- sion from the water court to transfer those water rights to municipal use. This permission means that the water can be diverted at the Otero Pipeline, high in the basin near Twin Lakes, rather than flowing down the river to be diverted in the lower valley. As of 1997, less than 15,000 acre-feet have been transferred in anyone water year, but the total amount available for transfer is approxi- mately 23,400 acre-feet. Fryingpan.Arkansas Project Between 1962 and 1980, the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) constructed or enlarged four storage dams and reservoirs within the basin, creating a total storage capacity of about 630,000 acre-feet: 1) Turquoise Lake 5 miles west of Leadville with a capacity of 120,478 acre-feet, 2) Mount Elbert Forebay Darn and Reservoir at the base of Mt. Elbert, with a capacity of 11,143 acre-feer, 3) Twin Lakes Dam and Twin Lakes at the east end of Independence Pass, with a capacity of 140,855 acre-feet (an enlargement of a natural lake), and 4) Pueblo Dam and Reservoir just west of the City of Pueblo, with a capacity of 357,678 acre-feet. In addition, between 1965 and 1981, BOR constructed and enlarged the west slope collection system, which conveys water to these reservoirs through the Charles H. Boustead Tunnel. The annual amount of water imported to the basin each year has averaged 56,000 acre-feet. The operating objectives of the Fryingpan- Arkansas Project are to: Maximize the storage of Project water from both the west slope and east slope Fill Turquoise and Twin Lakes each yeat during the summer Keep Turquoise and Twin Lakes full during the summer and eatly fall to provide recreational opportunities (this objective has been added since the Project was originally authorized by Federal legislation) Minimize the loss of Project water to evapora- tion Maximize electric power generation at the M t. Elbert Power Plant Fulfill contractual obligations for providing storage space and conveyance facilities Deliver water at the time and place of needs to customers of the Southeasterri Colorado Water Conservancy District In general, this means that the upper reservoirs, Turquoise Lake and Twin Lakes, are lowered prior to runoff in May to accommodate the predicted water availability from the east slope and west slope diversions. Since 1990, BOR has attempted to accomplish the lowering of upper reservoirs by April, to fulfill flow recommendations from the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (CDNR). Twin Lakes and Turquoise Reservoirs are typically filled by mid-July. From mid-July through September, releases from these reservoirs are roughly equivalent to inflow of native (nonim- ported) water. Since 1990, BOR's practice has been to gradually deliver water from the upper reservoirs to Pueblo Reservoir between October and March. This water is then delivered to Southeastern customers upon demand. Whenever possible, BOR manages its releases from upper basin reservoirs in accordance with recommenda- tions from the CDNR that are designed to enhance the flow regime of the river to benefit riverine habitat and recreation. This practice has been implemented since 1990 with the support of Summary of the Arkansas River Institutional and Legal Analysis -1-5