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"/ _.J - ,:.. Fax : Jul 03 15:30 ' Allen D. (Dave) Miller P.O. Box 567 Palmsr Lake. ColOrado 8(} /33 (l/9)48/-2fDJ . FAX(719)48/-40/3 JUne 30, 1995 Hr. Alan Hamel and Hr. Gene Jencsok CO-Chairmen, Water Acquisition Subcommittee Governor's Arkansas River Coordin~tinq Committee c/o Colorado Water Conservation Board 1313 Sherman Street, Rm. 721 Denver, Colorado aOZ03 Re: COOperative Pederal-Colorado SOlution For Kansas Water SUit Dear Hr. Hamel and Hr. Jencsok: The following long-term Federal-Colorado solution for the Kansas Suit against Colorado's overuse of the Arkansas River is hereby offered in response to your Hay 30, 1995 public request for ideas on water availability. In the 19505 and 60s the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's extensive Gunnison-Arkansas River StUdies indicated Colorado could divert up to 450,000 acre feet of its Colorado River compact entitlements from the untapped Upper Gunnison Basin, without adversely impacting down-river environments and senior water rights. Since those forgotten studies, Colorado's Upper Gunnison surplus has increased dramatically because of the long- term shift from irrigated farming to tourism. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was recently given an extremely valuable Colorado water right for the second filling of the Bureau's existing Taylor Park Reservoir in the Upper Gunnison Basin. This unprecedented headwater storage decree was originally justified by a State of Colorado fish flow study. This questionable study conclUded Brown Trout in the Taylor River needed summer flood flows that are 350 to 5501 higher than the decreed minimums under Colorado's Minimum Instream Flow proqram. Bureau -hydrology experts fully recognize that Taylor River trout do not need the 15,000 to 100,000 plUS acre feet associated with their Taylor Park Reservoir Refill Decree. The Bureau also recognizes its Conqressional mandate to assist the states with proper management and beneficial use of their interstate compact waters. In view of the above, I respectfully recommend use of the Bureau'e Cew Taylor Park Reservoir Refill Decree in a cooperatl e, Federal-Colorado solution for the Kansas water suit. The cost of this Gunnison-Arkansas River concept would be minimal if some ot these waters were combined with the currently planned headwater storage project to augment the Gunnison and South Platte Rivers during the environmentally destructive drouqht cycles.