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<br />. <br />\~ <br /> <br />. <br />~ <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />(f <br /> <br />(t!''' <br /> <br />November 22, 1994 <br />Page Two <br /> <br />The Board is of the opinion that operations at Aspinall, to date, have provided adequate <br />releases to offset the depletions and satisfy commitments associated with the biological <br />opinions for the Dallas and Dolores projects, <br /> <br />2) Blue Mesa should be filled by the end of July each year. <br /> <br />3)'Storage in Blue Mesa should be reduced to 581,000 AF of live storage by December 31 each <br />year to help alleviate the potential for ice jam flooding between December I and April 30 <br />above Blue Mesa Reservoir, Furthermore, this drawdown and subsequent additional <br />drawdown which may occur based on runoff forecasts provides the reservoir space required <br />to regulate spring runoff and minimize downstream flooding, Winter carry over storage <br />should not be increased simply to provide a spring peak, <br /> <br />4) <br /> <br />The bypass or spill of water should be avoided to the extent possible at all three reservoirs, <br />This is required by the Colorado River Storage Project Act which authorized the construction <br />of the Aspinall Unit. High flows should not be forced to bypass the powerplants or cause <br />flooding in the Delta area if such is avoidable, To the extent forecast and runoff conditions <br />allow, peak spring releases from the Aspinall Unit should be timed to coincide with peak <br />flows on the North Fork and Uncompahgre, but the peak at Whitewater should be no more <br />than 20,000 cfs in order to IIlinimi7p' the potential for downstream flooding and flood damage, <br /> <br />5) Release rates should not be such that reservoir levels drop below minimum power head except <br />during extreme drought. <br /> <br />6) Power generation should be the next consideration, Ramping rates should be as large as <br />possible and seasonally adjusted after taking into consideration the needs of the gold medal <br />trout fishery, endangered fish and other relevant recreation and project'safety concerns, We <br />generally concur with the recomIilended ramping rates suggested by the Colorado Division of <br />Wildlife which are to ramp up at 500 cfs/day, ramp down at 250 cfs/day and try to limit daily <br />fluctuations to around 200 cfs, particularly during fish spawning and hatch times, <br /> <br />7) To the extent possible, Reclamation should work with Western to reduce fluctuation <br />restrictions on Morrow Point and Crystal. We are of the opinion that there must be some way <br />to adjust tour boat operations on Morrow Point to provide Western with some additional <br />operational flexibility, Release restrictions on power operations in 1994 resulted in lost <br />revenues for Western of $3,5 million at Glen Canyon, $1.5 million at the Gorge and $1.5 <br />million at Aspinall, for a total of $6,5 million in lost revenues during 1994, <br /> <br />8) <br /> <br />If possible, after satisfying the above, the Black Canyon flows should be kept at 800-1200 cfs <br />to satisfy rafters between April 15 and October 30, <br />