BOARD00817

• Board Meeting Date: 7/26/1999
• Description: WSP Section - Colorado River Basin Issues - Surplus/Storage Criteria and 602‎(a)‎ Storage Levels
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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Agenda Item 13 j
July 26-27, 1999 Board Meeting
Page 2 of5

from change the 1970 operating criteria and doing NEP A compliance to using the annual
AOP process.
The issues identified included the following:
. The relationship to California's 4.4 plan;
. The impacts on 602(a) storage in Lake Powell;
· The impacts on equalization between Lakes Powell and Mead;
. The impacts on the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Plan,
provisions of the 1992 Grand Canyon Protection Act and the Glen Canyon
Dam Adaptive Management Prograrn;
· The ability to meet future water demands and the increased risk of future
shortages;
. The relationship between surplus and shortages and the distribution of
surpluses;
. The impacts to the off-stream banking regulations and the potential to bank;
. The potential for downstrearn flooding;
. . The impacts on the probability of spills, water surface fluctuations in both
Lakes Powell and Mead and the increased evaporation potential;
. The impacts to hydropower;
· The changes in the salinity of the water delivered in both the U.S. and
Mexico; and
. . The impacts on water rights and water right priority use.

I have listed the agencies that commented on the attached page and briefly
indicated whether or not they favored further surplus\shortage criteria. I have also
attached comment letters from the State of Colorado, Colorado River Water Conservation
District, Upper Colorado River Commission and the State of California. Staff has a
complete set of the comment letters available for review. Reclamation is currently
considering the comment letters, but has not given any indication of whether or not they
will proceed or how they intend proceed should they decide to go forward.

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