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<br />01246. <br /> <br />c <br /> <br />D-R-A-F-T <br /> <br />P:\User\Thomas\95Rate\Pwront I.wo1 <br /> <br />May 12. 1993 <br /> <br />Powerplant Operations <br /> <br />Issue <br /> <br />. Western is examlnlng current and proposed powerplant operational changes <br />and the how these changes can be reflected. The components of concern <br />include: <br /> <br />A. Current operational changes at Flaming Gorge Dam; <br />B. Proposed operational changes at Glen Canyon Dam; <br />C. Proposed operational changes at the Aspinall powerplants along the <br />Gunn i son River. <br /> <br />Background <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Current changes at Flaming Gorge Dam are the result of Reclamation's <br />compliance with the Fish and Wildlife Service's November 1992 Final <br />Biological Opinion. The Flaming Gorge releases are refined to provide <br />improved downstream conditions for endangered species. The Green River's <br />natural hydrograph and temperature regime is mimicked with high releases <br />in the spring, warm releases in early summer, and low, stable releases <br />throughout the rem a i nder of the year. A lthough water re 1 eases on an <br />annual basis remain unchanged, the distribution of releases, and resultant <br />energy generation, is shifted within each year. Energy previously <br />generated during high-demand winter months is instead generated during the <br />spring months (typically periods of lower demand). <br /> <br />. Probable operational changes at Glen Canyon Dam will not be known until <br />the completion of Reclamation's Glen Canyon Dam Environmental Impact <br />Statement (GCD-EIS) and the Record of Decision in December 1994 - January <br />1995. <br /> <br />c <br /> <br />The GCD-EIS team has recommended low fluctuating flows with habitat <br />maintenance flows as the preferred operational alternative. Reclamation, <br />in consultation with the cooperating agencies has concurred. Two other <br />alternatives are supported by some GCO-EIS team members. They include <br />moderate fl uctuat ing fl ows and seasonally-adjusted steady fl ows, wi th <br />habitat maintenance flows (HMF).I ~nother component of the anticipated <br /> <br />, <br />(. <br />\ . <br />~.. <br /> <br />High steady released within powerplant capacity for one to two weeks <br />in the spring, principally in the month of March. For impact <br />analyses, the HMF were assumed to be steady at 30,000 cfs for ten <br />days in March. The HMF woul d occur in years when the projected <br />storage in Lake Powell on January 1 is less than 19 MAF, or almost <br /> <br />1 <br />