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<br />Actual Operations Under Criteria. Water Year 1994 <br /> <br />Water year 1994 signalled the return of dry hydrological <br />conditions in the basin. Basinwide precipitation during 1994 <br />was below average. This lower precipitation also translated <br />into a below average snowpack. At the beginning of the <br />April-July runoff season the basinwide snowpack was only 72 <br />percent of average and conditions improved only slightly <br />through the remainder of the runoff season. Once again a <br />pattcrn of southerly storms developed over the basin during <br />the snow accumulation season. AJ; a result, the northern <br />portion of the basin had weU below average snowpack levels, <br />and the central and southern portion of the basin had below <br />to near average snowpack levels, These factors combined to <br />produce a weU below April-July average runoff in the Green <br />River Basin (49 percent of average ioto FonteneUe <br />Reservoir), a below average runoff in the Gunnison River <br />Basin (66 percent of average into Blue Mesa Reservoir), and <br />a slightly below average runoff in the San Juan River Basin <br />(% percent of average into Navajo R";Servoir). <br /> <br />With the low runoff during 1994 there were no reports of <br />flooding at any location during the water year. <br /> <br />Unregulated inflow into Lake PoweU in water year 1994 was <br />8,489 million cubic meters (6,882,000 acre-feet), 57 percent <br />of the long term average. This inflow resulted in \he lOGS of <br />approximately l,m million cubic meters (1,031,000 acre- <br />feet) of storage in Lake Powetl. <br /> <br />Approximately the same amount of storage was lost from the <br />upstream reservoirs, 1,205 million cubic meters (9'n,OOO <br />acre-feet). With an additional net loss of approximately <br />1,641 million cubic meters (1,330,000 acre-feet) within the <br />Lower Basin reservoirs, the total Colorado storage system <br />lost approximately 4,118 million cubic meters (3,338,000 <br />acre-feet) during water year 1994. It is nOW estimated that <br />it would take five years of average inflow to completely ftIl <br />the storage system. During 1994, all deliveries of water to <br />meet obligations pursuant to "The Law of the River" were <br />maintained. <br /> <br />During water year 1994, Mexico received a total delivery of <br />approximately 2,001 million cubic meters (1,622,000 acre- <br />feet) at the Northerly International Boundary (NIB). There <br />were flood control releases from Painted Rock Dam on the <br />Gila River during water year 1994. The Corp of Engineers <br />released from Painted Rock a total of 380 million cubic <br />meters (309,000 acre-feet) from Odober through mid. <br />December of 1994. The Gila River confluence with the <br />Colorado River is between Laguna Dam and Morelos Dam. <br />The volume delivered at NIB will be satisfied with Colorado <br />River water. Of that volume, approximately 362 million <br />cubic meters (294,000 acre-feet) will have been released <br />tluough Laguna Dam; and \he remaining 1,258 million cubic <br />meters (1,019,000 acre-feet) will have been discharged <br />through Siphon Drop and Pilot Knob Powerplanls on the <br />All-American Canal. <br /> <br />2 <br />