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r <br /> • R <br /> COLORADO BASIN <br /> ) <br /> Basinwide Conditions Assessment: <br /> The SWSI value of-0.4 indicates that for August the COLORADO RIVER BASIN <br /> basin water supplies were slightly below normal. The 5 .urf.a enter'"°°'y "'°'"""`°'' <br /> National Weather Service reports August precipitation at ._ <br /> 109% of average. Basinwide reservoir storage was 98% of Y ! <br /> average on August 31. Flow at the gaging station, Colorado 1. ' . , - <br /> River near Dotsero, averaged 1743 cfs as compared to the 2 .., 1.: <br /> 1961-1991 August average of 1763 cfs. 5 1- <br /> 1 <br /> Outlook _,_: - _, ' ✓/4 <br /> Above normal precipitation and reservoir released Y <br /> _2_ <br /> from Green Mountain reservoir have improved river flows :. l' r - I <br /> during the month of August. Base flows are still below 3": <br /> normal and will likely remain that way throughout the fall -• , ................................_.....,.........,...........- . .. <br /> JA"53 JAN54 JAN55 JANUS JA457 Jt1155 JAR81 JAN80 JAN91 JAf822 <br /> and winter. ranw YEAR <br /> Administrative/Manazement Concerns <br /> August is usually a month when the natural flow of <br /> the Colorado and its tributaries cannot satisfy the needs of the <br /> two major canals above Grand Junction which irrigate areas COLORADO RIVER NR. DOTSERO <br /> FLO,tY WATER YEAR <br /> surrounding that town, Delta, and the fruit growing fields of 3 2- <br /> Palisade and Orchard Mesa. The water rights for these two ,; <br /> canals, 640 cfs for the Grand Valley Canal in Palisade and 2.6 <br /> 1620 cfs for the Government Highline Canal in Cameo, ., 2 4 <br /> together form the"Cameo Call"and costitute the senior water §^ <br /> rights which control the entire river system. According to the s o 1.e <br /> operating policy of 1984, water is released out of Green ,., -�' <br /> Mountain Reservoir to satisfy the Cameo Call. It appears that s 1.2 <br /> Green Mountain has sufficient supply this year to satisfy the 1 0 B_ "1� - <br /> Cameo needs through this irrigation season. The Bureau of °° <br /> Reclamation started running storage water out of Ruedi 0.2 <br /> Reservoir for enhancing the flows below Palisade for ° <br /> °n Nov Doc Jan Feb Nardi ADrll May Jun. July AYp slat <br /> endangered fish, but frequent rain kept the river above WIR►„ <br /> minimum flows requiring only a portion the planned 10,000 ow`'"�' AYEA ' <br /> AF of releases to be made. <br /> Public Use Impacts <br /> As the recreation season winds down, the public use REPRESENTATIVE RESERVOIRS <br /> demand on rivers and reservoirs decreases. Uses on each have "E'SAWN <br /> been good this year in spite of the below average flows and 130 <br /> -V <br /> storage amounts. Irrigation users fared worse this year with • <br /> ;;�, <br /> some junior users received no water at all. Many people will i is. \ <br /> be hoping for a better than average snowpack this winter. 10s. <br /> ° f <br /> il '°-2,7\ • <br /> v \ <br /> a r, /\ <br /> • so <br /> s _,7 -\\. <br /> m <br /> Or..n M.�t.n Riwdi ti l i I. nark <br /> ® nwp sill content. ® 813.V82 Contents <br /> 7 <br />