FLOOD03474 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

OPERATIONS ~l~ RESERVOIRS During water year 1974, the Upper Colorado River Basin yielded 10,450.. 000 acre. feet or 85 percent of the long- time average. The disposition of this runolf was as follows. Net Reservoir Storage Increase Evaporation loss Bank Storage Increase Release to lower Basm Acre-Feet 600.000 610,000 980,000 8.260,000 -- 10,450,000 Tot....l 8 Water storage at Glen Canyon increased by 720,000 acre. feet during the penod October 1973 to September 1974. Flaming Gorge gained 400,000 acre. feet, while Navajo and Blue Mesa lost 380,000 and 135,000 acre. feel. respec- tively. In the spring Fontenelle and Mor. row Point were again filled to capacity. Flaming Gorge Reservoir filled for the first time on August 1. 1974. with a content of 3.750,000 acre. feet and an elevation of 6,040 feet. Lake Powell's alltime high water elevation occurred on June 30, 1974. when active storage reached 20.103.000 acre.feet at eleva. tion 3.667 feet. RIVERS Releases from Glen Canyon Dam were scheduled to integrate available spring' tIme surplus hydroelectnc power from the northwest With minimum releases provided by the operating criteria. The resulting pattern of inflow 10 Lake Mead and scheduled Lake Mead water de. mands caused the level of the lake to recede 6 feet during the bass-spawning season. Indications are that a receding lake level and other conditions resulted in a below. normal bass spawn. Due to relCltively favorable spawning conditions in previous years. however. fishing suc. cess In 1974 was better than C1verage. Sustained releases provided favorable nesting conditions for ducks and 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.