BOARD02475

• Board Meeting Date: 3/21/2002
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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Corps Study Published: On Feb. 14 we received copies of a report entitled "Arkansas River from
.Otero/Pueblo County Line to John Martin reservoir - Channel Capacity and Riparian Habitat Planning
Study" from the Corps. The document cuhninates a three-year study with a series of six recommendations to
improve water and sediment conveyance, reduce maintenance and restore riparian values and functions. The
recommendations are as follows:-

. No further reduction of the current 1,000 to 1,500-cfs floodway capacity.
. Extensive channel improvement through excavation is not recommended.
. Smaller scale channel modification techniques cannot be approached generically,
. Inundation of agricultural fields by river flows can be addresses in various ways both structurally and
non-structurally.
· Within the floodway, cost-effective restoration of native riparian vegetation can be accomplished through
the Corps' Section 1135 Program.
· To prevent further encroachment on the floodway, coordination and education oflocal stakeholders is
required.

The resource document is available for review from the Flood Protection Section.

Colorado River Basin Issues

DSS Irrigated Acreage Update Project: The project continues to be on schedule. Approximately 80
percent of the maps have been returned to the contractor for revision. Additional maps were sent to Water
Commissioners in the Upper Gunnison for additional editing due to complications caused by fields irrigated
by multiple structures. Water Commissioners in Divisions 6 and 7 have returned most of their maps and
Water Commissioners in Division 4 have returned all but the Upper Gunnison portion. Water Commissioners
. in Division 5 are still working on their maps and assure us they will send their maps to the contractor very
soon. Some maps for Division 5 had to be re-done and the contractor has sent them to Commissioners. The
contractor is continuing work on crop typing the returned maps and does not foresee schedule overruns if
Water Commissioners return the edited maps in a timely fashion,

Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (GCDAMP): Dr. Barry Gold, Director of the USGS
Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC), announced on Feb. 26 that he will be resigning
to work on sustainability issues for the Packard Foundation. A search for Dr. Gold's replacement is
underway. The program is also in the process of preparing its annual report to Congress.

We will be discussing experimental flow issues with you at our meeting. The experimental flow under
consideration at present is outside the limits of the preferred alternative in the EIS. However, given that the
preferred alternative is not producing desired effects we should consider the experimental flow suggested.

Finally, the GCAMP has drafted a funding request for FY 2004. This request includes $8. 5 million from
CRSP Power Revenues, $475,000 from the Interior Department for Tribal participation, $309,000 in
Reclamation funds for Lalce Powell Integrated Water Quality Studies, and $1,2 million from the USGS. The
total request is $10. 5 million. We have not supported additional USGS funding and will not be until a
strategic plan for the GCDAMP has been agreed to by the Adaptive Management Work Group, It has been
reported that U.S. Rep. Joel Caplin has taken an interest in the USGS budget and we will inform him of our
concerns.

Seven Colorado River Basin State Activities: The Seven Basin States have been developing letters to
Interior Secretary Norton and Secretary of State powell to support positions that have been advanced
. concerning the Colorado River Delta in Mexico. If completed prior to our March meeting I will provide you
with copies. The states have also been discussing the establishment of a technical committee to review the
work of the International Boundary and Water Commission and Group 4 and to make recommendations to

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