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Arkansas River Water Needs Assessment - Section 1. Executive Summary the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District. The construction of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project allowed BOR to sign storage contracts with parties who had a need to store the yield of previ- ously established water rights. These contracts include: Typically Stored in Turquoise Reservoir 17,416 acre-feet - Colorado Springs Utilities 5,000 acre-feet - City of Aurora (original shares of Busk-Ivanhoe, Inc.) 5,000 acre-feet - Pueblo Board of Water Works (original shares of Busk-Ivanhoe, Inc.) 30,000 acre-feet - Colorado Springs Utilities and City of Aurora Typically Stored in Twin Lakes Reservoir 54,452 acre-feet - Twin Lakes Reservoir and Canal Company Frequently, these storage contracts, as well as others signed on a short-term basis, are employed by water users to execute exchanges. These exchanges allow water from lower Arkansas River Valley locations and other upper basin locations to be moved to Turquoise and Twin Lakes Reservoirs. Moving water to these locations allows easy delivety to municipal supply systems via the Otero Pipeline. BOR also stores watet for lower basin users at Pueblo Reservoir under a Winter Water Storage Program (WWSP) decreed by the water court. This program allows some water rights holders, primarily agricultural users who historically used water during the winter, to store the yield of those water rights in Pueblo Reservoir from November 15 to March 15 for irrigation at a later time. Arkansas River Compact of 1948 While the administration of the Arkansas River Compact has major impacts on water use in the lower Arkansas Valley; its impact on streamflows between Twin Lakes and Pueblo Reservoirs is much more limited. The compact ratified irrigation as a legitimate use for John Marrin Reservoir, which was previously approved only for flood control. Therefore, John Martin became a major irrigation storage facility with a 1948 priority, which is senior to water rights for the Fryingpan- Arkansas Project. Project facilities cannot store native flows until John Martin Reservoir is full. When this occurs, the main stem of the Arkansas may see a decrease in streamflow as upper basin storage captures a portion of the native flows. Annual Flow Management Program In 1990, BOR and the CDNR signed an agreement under which BOR would attempt to provide flows to better support natural resource values. There is no legal obligation upon BOR to provide the flows, and the program must be operated within the context of legally required storage and deliveries for water users. CDNR makes its flow recommendations via an annual letter to BOR each spring. The annual letter has typically included the following six components: Minimum year-round flow of at least 250 cfs to protect the fishety Flows from mid-November through April not less than 5 inches below the height of the river from Oct. 15 - Nov. 15 to protect and incubate brown trout eggs Flows from April 1 - May 15 between 250-400 cfs for egg hatching and fty emergence - Augment flows during the July 1 to August 15 period to create flows of at least 700 cfs for recrearional purposes Limit daily flow changes to 10-15 percent of flows If possible, reduce flows after Labor Day to levels recommended by Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) Institutional and Legal Opportunities for Water Management There are numerous opportunities for improving water management to better meet the needs of 1-6 - Summary of the Arkansas River Institutional and Legal Analysis