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<br />001037 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The water year, 1953-1954, was the lowest of existing record within the Colorado <br />River basin and it may be noted from the tabulation that replacement releases from <br />Green Mountain Reservoir were made in the amount of 33,352 acre-feet. <br />Green Mountain Reservoir was constructed to fulfill such replacement requirements <br />and, as provided in Senate Document 80, 52,000 acre-feet of its capacity is specifically <br />reserved for replacement of water to the vested appropriations on the Colorado River <br />and to provide some measure of protection for future irrigation developments within the <br />Colorado River Basin. From the analysis of the two minimum years of record, it seems <br />quite obvious that the replacement of water to vested rights on the Colorado River may <br />be accomplished under the most extreme conditions ~dth something less than 35,000 acre- <br />feet per year with Denver diverting all water available on her Williams Fork and Fraser <br />River decrees as well as all water available on her 1946 decree out of the Blue River. <br />It may be concluded, therefore, that the 52,000 acre-feet reserved in'Senate <br />Document 80 is more than adequate for all vested rights and will permit additional <br />expansion of irrigation uses within the Colorado River basin on the Western Slope. <br />Senate Document 80 also provides that 100,000 acre-feet of Green Mountain storage <br />capacity shall be available to supply existing irrigation and domestic appropriations <br />and for future uses in the irrigation of lands later to be brought under cultivation <br />in western Colorado. Further provision is made that the 100,000 acre-feet shall be <br />released between April 15th and October 15th of each year to maintain the 1250 cfs <br />flow at Shoshone, provided such amount is not supplied from the 52,000 acre-feet <br />specifically reserved to permit project diversions above Granby Reservoir. Whatever <br />interest the District may have in the 100,000 acre-feet, and as may later be determined <br />by the court, it seems safe to conclude that the District is protected to some degree <br />even beyond the 52,000 acre-feet. <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />-9- <br /> <br />, <br />