WSP05551

• File Number: 822.600.10
• Description: Colorado River Annual Operating Plan - Annual Reports
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Date: 1/1/2002
• Author: USDOI/BOR
• Title: Annual Operating Plan
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Annual Report

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2002 DETERJ\lINA nONS

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The AOP provides guidance regarding reservoir storage and release conditions during the
upcoming year, based upon Congressionally mandated and authorized storage, release, and
delivery criteria and determinations. After meeting these requirements, specific reservoir releases
may be modified within these requirements as forecast inflows change in response to climatic
variability and to provide additional benefits coincident to the projects' multiple purposes.

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Upper Basin Reservoirs

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The Operating Criteria provide that the annual plan of operation shall include a determination of
the quantity of water considered necessary to be in Upper Basin storage at the end of the water
year. Taking into consideration all relevant factors required by the Operating Criteria, and further
considering infonnation submitted to Reclamation by the Colorado River Basin States (65 Federal
Register 48537, August 8, 2000) which would utilize a value not less than 14,85 million acre-feet
(elevation 3,630 feet) for Lake Powell, it is determined that the active storage in Upper Basin
reservoirs forecast for September 30, 2002, exceeds the storage required under Section 602(a)
of the Colorado River Basin Project Act under any reasonable range of assumptions which might
be applied. Therefore, "602(a) Storage" is not the criterion controlling the release of water from
Glen Canyon Dam during water year 2002.

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Section 602(a)(3) of the Colorado Ril'er Basin Project Act provides for the storage of Colorado
River water in Upper Basin reservoirs that the Secretary of the Interior finds necessary to assure
deliveries to comply with Articles lII(c) and lII(d) of the 1922 Colorado River Compact, without
impainnent to the annual consumptive use in the Upper Basin. Pursuant to Section 602(b), as
amended, the Secretary is required to make this detennination after consultation with the Upper
Colorado River Commission and representatives from the three Lower Division States, and after
taking into consideration all relevant factors including historic stream flows, the most critical
period of record, the probabilities of water supply, and estimated future depletions. Water not
required to be so stored will be released from Lake Powell:

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to the extent it can be reasonably applied in the States of the Lower Division to the uses
specified in Article 111(e) of the 1922 Colorado Riwr Compact, but these releases will not
be made when the active storage in Lake Powell is less than the active storage in Lake
Mead,

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to maintain, as nearly as practicable, active storage in Lake Mead equal to the active
storage in Lake Powell, and

to avoid anticipated spills from Lake Powell.

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The spill avoidance and/or the storage equalization criteria in accordance with Article 11(3) of the
Operating Criteria will control the releases from Glen Canyon Dam during water year 2002 unless

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October 15, 200 I

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