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<br />( <br /> <br />DAAFT <br />June 22, 1989 <br /> <br />Conce?:: Pa?~r <br />Relative t.o,. <br />Secretary oE the Interior's Decision <br />Regarding <br />Basin States' Unused Apportionments <br />Under "Normal" Releases from Lake ~ead <br /> <br />The purpose of this paper is to propose an evaluation <br />process to be used in making annual river operating plan <br />cecisions with regard to lower 3asin states unused <br />aooortionments of Colorado River water. This is an area not <br />addressed in the current federal/state draft working docum~nt <br />on the recommended process for developing annual'operating <br />plans for the Colorado River System uncer full reservoir <br />conditions. It is intended that the evaluation in this <br />82tter would be added to that document. It is envisioned <br />that as other issues arise they will 02 accressed or 2xnanded <br />u~on in a similar manner, as ;eauirec, therebv allovinc for <br />the g~eatest understanding in o?e!:'ating plan deve!O?iiH~i1t <br />to oe used as the basis for making operating plan decisions. <br />This will become increasingly im?o=ta~t in dealing '.,.Ji~h ne\.: <br />eras of operational transitions to and rrom "su!'91us", <br />"normal" and, eventually, "sho:tage" conditions. The <br />evaluation process pro?osed in this ?a?ec is intenaec to <br />focus on the development of annual operating plans for <br />Coloraco Rive!:' reservoirs prior to the time .....hen Arizona is <br />using its basic a?p~ortionfi1ent of 2.8 million acre-feet. <br /> <br />The Secretary of the Interior, i~ o?erating the Colorado <br />:\iver's reservoirs, is guided by the Eunda;nental policy of <br />~ee~ing, to the maximu~ extent ?ossible, ~he beneficial ~c~er <br />needs of the. Basin .states, con5is~~n~ ~i~h -The La~ oi-~he <br />~iver".. With the commencement of the Central .~rizon2: ?:ojec: <br />deliveries in December 1985, the Secre~arv of the Interior lS <br />to define the river supply available each year to the aasin <br />s~2tes 2na Mexico by determining ....het.:,er sur?.!.us, nocmal, or: <br />shortage conditions exist with respect to the operation of <br />Lake Mead. This is to be accomplished throL!gh appropdate <br />discretionary decisions regarding the use of surplus '-'ater, <br />unused annortionments, or consL!motive use restrictions due to <br />Shortage" conditions. The three conditions of normal, <br />surplus, and shortage are defined relative to annual pumping <br />and release of water from Lake Mead to satisfy 7.5 million <br />a c r e - fee t 0 f co n Sum p t i ve use. S h 0 r tag e and sur? 1 u s <br />conditions in any given :eer are ~~e~ the:e is less t~c~ 0: <br />more than 7.5 million i!c:e-reet availa~le, res?ectivelv. <br />O?erations governing sur~lus anc short~ge conditio~s ace/~iil <br />be discussed else~here in the feceral/state draft ~or<ing <br />cocument on river operations. <br />