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<br />available to Colorado diverters. John Martin Reservoir is normally in one of <br />two postures during the irrigation season; either storing or not storing in <br />the conservation pool. The summer storage mode must be determined by project- <br />ing when inflow will exceed demand below the reservoir by 1,000 acre-feet per <br />day. It then becomes necessary to monitor flows headed downriver to the <br />reservoir, giving maximum lead time possible. The system gives the capability <br />of monitoring upstream stations on both the Arkansas and the Purgatoire Rivers <br />with lead times of up to 48 hours. The non-storage mode creates the situation <br />of having to route streamf10ws through the reservoir body to users down- <br />stream. Monitoring of inflows is just as critical in this instance. The <br />inflow at the stations above John Hartin Reservoir plays an important part in <br />managing winter water storage and in setting summer river calls. <br /> <br />During the 1987 water year, releases were made from the flood pool in <br />John Martin Reservoir from Harch 24 to July 7, 1987. The Corps of Engineers <br />determined that the safe channel capacity below the reservoir was 3,000 cfs. <br />The monitoring system was used successfully to control releases in order to <br />avoid exceeding channel capacity. The inflow stations above John Martin <br />Reservoir are all incorporated into the system's monitoring network. In <br />addition, the major irrigation diversions are in the network. Similar operat- <br />ing procedures were utilized for Pueblo Reservoir. This capability gives <br />valuable lead time in order to make administrative decisions concerning <br />streamflow routing through the reservoirs relative to standard operating <br />procedures, which in turn affects the operation of the entire basin. <br /> <br />-94- <br />