WSP04343

• File Number: 7630.325
• Description: Wild and Scenic-Gunnison River-Curecanti Unit
• State: CO
• Basin: Gunnison
• Water Division: 4
• Date: 12/1/1986
• Author: WBLA inc
• Title: Gunnison-Curecanti-Curecanti Instream Flow Water Rights Study
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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Both the 1st fill and the refill decree for Blue Mesa were modelled with a

basin rank of 2937.

(See Table 1.)

All reservoirs were assumed to be full at the start of the period of

record in 1952, which was a wet year.

(See Figure 2.) All storage

decrees were also allowed to operate without deduction for start-of-year

storage. After modelling any study scenario, it is possible to analyse

storage operations to determine if, after correcting for starting

contents, storage o~curred in excess of decreed amounts. This can be done

by subtracting the starting contents from the decreed amount (including

refill rights) and comparing the rlet decreed amourlt with total annual

storage under the decree. No storage in excess of decreed amounts was

observed in a cursory review of the modelling results.

Once stored, water from Taylor Park is released by the model only on

demand to the 1913 irrigation decree at the Gunnison Tunnel. The release

of water from Taylor Park in exchange for storage credit at Blue Mesa is

illustrated in an ex post analysis of one study scenario and is discussed

in Section lII.D. below.

G. Blue Mesa Storage Targets

Water stored in Blue Mesa was generally released in the model under the

following rules: If storage in Blue Mesa was above the target level at the

start of a given month, releases were made to bring end-of-month storage

including all inflows to the target for that month. If storage was below

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