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<br />UU,""'"/ <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Glen Canyon Dam Tempera/ure Control Device Environmental Assessment <br /> <br />On February 23, 2004, Reclamation released an announcement that it would <br />reinitiate preparation of a programmatic environmental assessment (EA) associated with <br />installation of a temperature control device (TCD) on Glen Canyon Dam. The TCD <br />would be utilized to warm the temperature of the water released from the dam during the <br />year. Prior to the construction of Glen Canyon Dam, the temperature of the mainstream <br />flows in the Glen and Grand Canyon reaches of the Colorado River would have been as <br />high as 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Currently, the cold-water releases from the Dam range <br />between 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, instead of an 8-unit TCD, Reclamation is <br />evaluating the feasibility of a 2-unit TCD as a pilot project. The GCMRC would develop <br />the monitoring and experimental program for the TCD. Comments related to the 30-day <br />issues scoping period are to be received by Reclamation's Upper Colorado Regional <br />Office by April 2, 2004, <br /> <br />Lower Colorado Water Supplv Proiect (LCWSP) <br /> <br />The City of Needles (Needles) is continuing to execute subcontracts with the <br />Lower Colorado Water Supply Project (Project) beneficiaries to receive Project water. <br />As of March I '\ over 474 subcontracts in the amount of 1,279 acre-feet of water per year <br />for current and future use have been forwarded to potential applicants for execution, To <br />date, 331, or 70 percent, of the subcontracts have been executed and returned to Needles, <br />Finally, with regard to the Advanced Delivery of the Project water, Board staff are <br />continuing to work on a contract format to be presented to the parties interesting in <br />receiving unused Project water. <br /> <br />WATER QUALITY <br /> <br />PG&E Topock Gas Compressor Stalion Chromale Plume <br /> <br />As I reported earlier in July and Augllst last year, the Pacific Gas and Electric <br />Company (PG&E) used an anti-corrosion chemical agent containing hexavalent <br />chromium [Cr(VI)] in its two cooling towers at the Topock Gas Compressor station, <br />Until the mid-1960s, untreated cooling tower blow down was discharged into Bat Cove <br />Wash, a nearby ephemeral stream bed that drained into the Colorado River during the wet <br />season, In 1964, PG&E began t0 treat this discharged wastewater to convert the <br />hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] into a form of trivalent chromium [Cr(III)], <br /> <br />After removal of the chromium bearing solids, the treated water was discharged <br />into an injection well located on PG&E property above Bat Cave Wash. In 1973, PG&E <br />stopped using the injection well and the treated wastewater was discharged exclusively in <br />four single-lined evaporation ponds, In 1989, four new Class II triple-lined evaporation <br />ponds were constructed to accept the cooling towers blow down discharge, <br /> <br />9 <br />