BOARD00034

• Board Meeting Date: 5/23/2005
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Both AB434 and AB253 appropriate $3 million to help cover the costs of adjudicating water
rights. They also appropriate another $12 million for a statewide water inventory.
Under the measures, before any interbasin groundwater transfers are allowed the state engineer
would have to adjudicate any existing water rights affected by the transfer-. Cost of the
adjudication process would be covered by the applicant for the water transfer.
Under AB434, the state engineer would have to reject any water transfer application ifthere's a
finding that the transfer is for" a speculative purpose."

Water War Brewing Along Utah-Nevada Border: A move by Nevada to tap an aquifer that
extends across the Utah border could spark a western water war.

Nevada reportedly wants the water for Las Vegas, one of the fastest-growing cities in the United
States. But residents of Utah's southwest deserts say that tapping the groundwater will be felt on
both sides of the border and that it could have a disastrous effect on agriculture and wildlife.

Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, promised that nothing
will be done to hurt the environment. Studies are being done by the U.s. Geological Survey and
the federal Bureau of Land Management.

Gunnison River Basin

Aspinall Unit Operations April 22, 2005 Meeting: The following are highlights from the meeting held,
at the USBR Grand Junction office:
1. After 7 consecutive years of below-average runoff, 2005 is expected to have slightly above-
average runoff. Blue Mesa is expected to fill under most probable conditions. Late winter and
early spring releases were increased in anticipation of above-average runoff
2. Black Canyon spring flows increased to around 1500 cfs in March and April. The USBR
,antiCipates flows of appro~imately 1000 cfs through the summer. Because of a projectIon of
available excess water,a sinallpeak flow of 3000'- 3500 cfs was plllni1.ed.-- Due to-decreases in '
runoff forecasts in May, the planned peak flow was cancelled.
3. CDOW requested flows of approximately 400 - 500 cfs for several days at the end of September
while they conduct their annual fishery inventories.
4. The turbines at Crystal have been repaired and improved, tested, and returned to service with a
slightly increased capacity.
5. There was a discussion of the Dallas Creek and Dolores Project' biological opinions and whether
operations of the Aspinall Unit are meeting the obligations of those opinions. As they had in the
Aspinall Operations EIS meeting, the USFWS indicated that past and future compliance depends
on the outcome of the Aspinall EIS process. Representatives of many other agencies, including
CWCB staff, expressed their disagreement with the USFWS statement.
6. Redlands Canal and power plant was offline all winter for construction of a fish screen at the
intake structure to prevent future "take" of endangered fish by the canal. Redlands came back
online in April and is using the bypass structure until the fish screen construction is completed in
June.

Aspinall Unit Reoperation EIS: Meetings for EIS Cooperating Agencies have been held
approximately monthly since December 2004. The most recent meeting was held April I, 2005
at the USBR office in Grand Junction.

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