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WAYNE N. ASPINALL UNIT BLUE MESA, MORROW POINT, AND CRYSTAL RESERVOIRS (GUNNISON RIVER) Water Year 1994 The Wayne N. Aspinall Unit, is comprised of Blue Mesa, Morrow Point, and Crystal Reservoirs. Blue Mesa provides nearly all of the long-term storage for all three powerplants. Morrow Point provides peaking power, and thus has highly variable releases. The primary function of Crystal Reservoir is to regulate the variable Morrow Point releases. Live storage capacities for Morrow Point and Crystal Reservoirs are 144.3 and 21.5 million cubic meters (117,000 and 17,500 acre-feet) respectively, April through July unregulated runoff into Blue Mesa Reservoir was 627 million cubic meters (508.000 acre-feet), or 66 percent of average. The total unregulated inflow for water year 1994 was 919 million cubic meters (745,000 acre-feet), or 69 percent of average. The peak regulated inflow to Blue Mesa was 145 cubic meters per second (5,123 cubic feet per second) on June I, 1994. Releases from Blue Mesa Reservoir totaled 1,055 million cubic meters (855,000 acre-feet) for the water year. ACTUAL CRYSTAL RELEASES 1894 M'WON CIJaIC IIEIBII 100 TNOUUICD ACR&-FUT - / '-, r--.. V .... 400 ... - 141 100 III 100 11 cf- ~.). I' ~ , ;/' .,. ~ <I' ; ~ ,,0 Section 7 consultation with the FISh and Wildlife Service on the operation of the Aspinall Unit was continued in 1994. As part of this consultation, a 5-year plan to study the effect of various release patterns on habitat and possibly on the reproductive success and reintroduction of endangered fish in the Gunnison River was outlined. Water year 1994 was the third year of this 5-year study. Additionally, the Aspinall Unit was operated as if the draft contract between Reclamation, the National Park Service, and the State of Colorado to deliver water from the Aspinall Unit to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument was in place. The operation was coordinated with the National Park Service, State of Colorado, and the Fish and Wildlife Service and others interested in the operation of the Aspinall U nil. BLUE MESA RESERVOIR Reservoir Storage Capacity Nannal Pool fJevatiOD Minimum Power Pool Surface Area, full Reservoir Length, full 1,023 million cubic meters (829,523 acre-feet) 2291.8 mele.. (75t9.4 fee') 2253.3 mele.. (7393,0 feel) 3,7L5 bectaru (9,t8O acres) 39 kilometers (24 miles) Powemlants ffilue Mesa. Morrow Point and CriStan Number of Unim Tolal Capacity 5 208,000 ~ 9