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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1 n ~ l'~ '"; 7
.1" '.
. u _...... 'J

20

snowpack portends an exceptionally dry year, Blue Mesa contents may be

kept above targets during these months and power production cut back so as

to increase the chances that the reservoir will fill up by the end of June

even with a low runoff.

The ASP model includes a feature which makes such adjustments based Qn

a synthesized runoff forecast. Such fine tuning introduces great

complexity into the model and to the interpretation of the results and was

beyond the scope of this study. The effect of adjusting Blue Mesa storage

targets based on snowpack conditions, however, can be illustrated in arl ~

post analysis of any of the study scenarios. Such an analysis may be

especially instructive for those study scenarios which exhibit substantial

draw downs of Blue Mesa in very dry years. In actual operation in such

dry years and depending on when a below average forecast is made during

such years, Blue Mesa releases to make the targets as imposed by this

study for January through April might be curtailed and the actual draw

down would be less severe than predicted in this study.

The targets provided by the USBR also assume that some water is held on

account at Blue Mesa for the Uncompahgre Valley Water User Association

CUVWUAl under the Taylor Park exchange agreement. Releases from Taylor

Park under the exchange agreement generally tend to increase storage

contents at Blue Mesa and to reduce the storage space at Blue Mesa

available to the USBR. The USBR targets for Blue Mesa presumably have

WBLA, Inc. 1909 Broadway, #3, Boulder, Colorado 80302