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<br />As outlined in the Bureau of Reclamation's operating policy for the reservoir, 66,000 acre feet of the <br />reservoir's 100,000 acre foot power pool is obligated to meet the demand of historic agricultural and <br />domestic beneficiaries on the West Slope. When a Cameo or Shoshone call is placed. water is released <br />from the 66,000 acre foot pool to repiace certain out-of-priority depietions associated with non-industrial <br />use on the West Slope. , Under the current administration of the State Engineer, releases are made to <br />replace depletions associated with domestic and irrigation rights that had perfected their water rights on or <br />before January 1, 1984. Releases are not made to benefit any industrial uses or to benefit non-industrial <br />uses perfected after that date. Releases from the 66,000 acre foot pool are also made to directly satisfy <br />irrigation rights at Cameo that are not satisfied by other releases, because these irrigation rights were also <br />perfected by use prior to 1984. <br /> <br />There has been recent concern that the 66,000 acre foot pool obligated for West Slope use may be <br />inadequate to satisfy all demands during critically dry years. If releases from the 66,000 acre foot pool are <br />inadequate to replace historic demands, it is possible that historical West Slope beneficiaries will be <br />placed on call during a portion of dry years, most likely during the late irrigation season. This would <br />significantly increase contract demands for Wolford Mountain Reservoir. <br /> <br />3.2.4 Pending Instream Flow Issues <br />Pursuant to the Recovery Program for the Colorado River Endangered Fishes, the Colorado Water <br />Conservation Board, in consultation with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others, is currently <br />developing an instream flow water right filing for the Colorado River from the Town of Rifle to the State <br />Line. It is anticipated that in 1995 the Board will file an application for instream rights in the 15 Mile Reach <br />of the river downstream of the Grand Valley Irrigation Company Dam. The primary purpose of these <br />instream flow claims will be to aid recovery of the endangered fishes. <br /> <br />The amount of water that will be claimed is currently under consideration. It is anticipated that the claims <br />may exceed stream flow of the river on a year-round basis during dry years. As a result, water rights with <br />a priority junior to 1995 may be subject to additional water right administration and may require <br />augmentation. <br /> <br />The geographic region most affected by these pending claims may be that portion of the basin between <br />Grand Junction and the Shoshone Demand (such as the Roaring Fork Watershed). Currently, a winter <br />call does not originate from the Cameo Demand and much of the area between Cameo and Shoshone is <br />not subject to a winter call. With the potential in stream flow claims, it is anticipated that a winter call may <br />occur in many future years. Releases from Wolford Mountain Reservoir could augment such a winter call. <br /> <br />3.3 OVERVIEW OF AUGMENTATION DEMANDS <br /> <br />Potential augmentation demands vary by geographic area. A brief overview of augmentation demands for <br />primary watersheds in the upper Colorado River basin is provided below. <br /> <br />7 <br />