BOARD02099

• Board Meeting Date: 5/20/2002
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Colorado River Basin Issues

Colorado River Delta Update: The Technical Workgroup established by the Seven Basin States met on
March 28 in Las Vegas, Nevada and April 30 in Phoenix, The Workgroup has undertaken two tasks, The
first is to summarize as best possible the surface water and groundwater resources available to Mexico in an
effort to develop a water budget and help understand and outline possible steps that Mexico could take to
improve conditions for the Colorado River Delta, The second task is to develop a "Broad Brush Concept
Document" that identifies possible water supplies available to meet the identified needs of the Colorado
River Delta, The next step will be to categorize the various alternatives into groups and identifY the pros and
cons of each altemative, This information will then be discussed among the seven basin states before any
recommendations are offered to the Intemational Boundary and Water Commission,

Colorado River Salinity Control Forum to Meet: The Workgroup will be meeting in Silverthome,
Colorado on June 4 and the Forum on June 5-6, The major item of business will be the 2002 triennial review
of the Colorado River Salinity Standard,

Grand Valley Project Government Highline Canal Fish Passage EA: Reclamation issued a draft
Environmental Assessment (EA) for construction of a fish passage and fish screen on the Government
Highline Diversion (Roller Dam), Staff provided comments on the EA in coordination with those of the
Executive Director on April 12, It is anticipated that construction could begin as early as November ofthis
year after the canal turned off for the winter.

Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program: The Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management
Workgroup (AMWG) has recommended an experimental flow test similar to the 1996 Beach\Habitat
Building Flow (BHBF) in which releases from Glen Canyon Dam were made in excess of power plant
capacity to test the ability ofthose operations to conserve sediment resources, The AMWG will forward a
recommendation to Secretary of Interior Norton that will offer four options for special releases depending
upon hydrologic conditions and sediment inputs into Colorado River from the Paria River during the late
summer and fall monsoon season, That sediment input is what the experimental releases will attempt to
mobilize to rebuild beaches and help benefit endangered fishes, Researchers are continuing to refine the
proposal for presentation at the July AMWG meeting,

The primary purpose of the Water Year 2002- 2003 experimental flows are to improve retention of sediment
resources in the Colorado River Ecosystem and to benefit native fish, primarily the endangered humpback
chub, The secondary purpose of the experiment is to improve the Lees Ferry trout fishery through reductions
in Rainbow Trout densities which are expected to improve growth rates and health of the remaining trout,
and preserve the blue ribbon character ofthat fishery,

If the experimental flow is carried out, a release in excess of power plant capacity will occur in January 2003
assuming sufficient sediment input from the Paria occurred during the monsoon season, Depending on Lake
Puwt:ll t:lt:vaiiull alIU a:s:suIllillg lulll-'uwt:1l-'laul val-'aviiy H:::lt:a:st::s (31,000 v[:s) a l-'t::ak lluw UlalUUllU 41,000
cfs will occur for up to 48 hours, The 1996 BHBF peak was 45,000 cfs, If there are not sufficient sediment
inputs this year, the test will be implemented in the fust future year that tributary sediment inputs are
sufficient.

At the July AMWG meeting, researchers will report on consultations with the U,S, Fish and Wildlife Service
regarding the experimental flow in accordance with provisions of the Endangered Species Act. Specific
details for the experiment will be presented along with a public information plan and long-term monitoring
plan,

The AMWG also reaffmned a decision made in January 2002 to attempt to remove Brown Trout from Bright
Angel Creek near Phantom Ranch in the Grand Canyon, Brown Trout are a known predator of humpback

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