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OPERATIONS RESERVOIRS During Water Year 1973 the Upper Colofado River Basin yielded 16,130,- 000 acre-leel. or 133 percent of the long-time average. The disposition of this runoff is as tollows: Net Reservoir Storage Increase Evaporation Loss Bank Storage Increase Release to lower Basin Acre-Feet 5.240.000 550,000 230,000 10,110,000 TOI"!I 16,130,000 B Water storage at Glen Canyon increas- ed by 4,810,000 acre-leet. Flaming Gorge losl 280,000 acre-feet, while Navajo and Blue Mesa gained 500,000 and 210,000 acre-feet. respectively. This spring Fontanelle and Morrow Point were again filled to capacity, and storage in Lake Mead increased 2, 720,000 acre-feet A Federal District Couft order on Feb- ruary 27,1973, limiting storage 01 water in Lake Powell to a maximum level 01 elevation 3,606 feel. the boundafY 01 Rainbow Bridge National Monument, resulted in the release to the Lower Basin of about 1,425,000 acre-feet of water that under the existing criteria would have been stored in Lake Powell, On May 1, 1973, the Tenth Circuit COUft of Appeals granted a Stay of Execution, thus allowing resumption of storage. In August the Circuit Court reversed the District Court decision, An all time high water elevation occurred on September 19, 1973 when Lake Powell contained 17,306,000 acre-feet of active storage at elevation 3,646 feel. This is about 24 feet higher than the former all lime high that occurred two years ago. RIVERS Water from Colorado Rivef Storage Pro. ject storage reservoirs meets many day- to.day demands and is used to fulfill the multiple purposes for which the project was designed. Releases from Glen Canyon Dam assisted the pfopa- gat Ion of bass in Lake Mead where bass fishing was feported to be satisfactory, Nevertheless, power generation loads were satisfied, and compact release requirements were fulfilled_ Storage in Navajo Reservoir possibly prevented flood damage due to a high spring run. olf in the San Juan River BaSin. Sus- tained releases provided favorable nesting conditions forducksand geese along the Green River in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. Flows below Fon- tenelle, Flaming Gorge, Blue Mesa, and Morrow Point were regulated to meet irrigation and power demands.