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0022'72 Bureau of Reclamation News Release .. --, J ~ ~ ~ - .""",- ,l ~ ,. (i51m5?~Jf~ """'- .....-:-- ...... ~ll liq( 1 {1.9 ' - "'II ~ COLO.---- CO"'SER~~g~---NWAfER 80ARD Upper Colorado Region Salt Lake City, Utah Loveless (801) 524-5403 For Release Hay 14, 1985 Fontenelle Reservoir Drawdown Temporarily Halted to Preserve Fish Fontenelle Reservoir drawdown has been temporarily halted to preserve as many fish as possible without jeopardizing the safety of the dam, it was announced today by Regional Director Clifford Barrett of the Bureau of Rec lama t ion. The drawdown may resume, however, after conditions at the dam have been evaluated. Reclamation officials became concerned when dead fish were seen in the river downstream from the dam. "From the beginning of this process 1 we were concerned about the potential impacts on the fish, but our first concern had to be the safety of the dam," Barrett said. Fishery and hydrology specialists are now investigating the situation to determine the cause and magnitude of the fish kills. Hovering around elevation 6,443 feet above sea level, the reservoir .....ill ~cw fh..!ct.uat.e only slightly as inflows increase from the spring runoff. Reclamation will try to maintain releases about equal to inflow. Current releases from the reservoir are at about 4,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), but that will increase as inflow rises. Although the snowmelt runoff down the Green River has not yet peaked, snowpack measurements indicate that the river will peak at about 7,000 efs, which is well within the channel capacity downstream. Since April 30, releases of water into the Green River through the dam have been kept high to lower the reservoir, hence reducing water pressure -more-