WATER DIVISION 5 Colorado Water Congress Annual Convention Workshop January 30, 2013 Blue River Operations 2004-2013
SOME HISTORY 1935 – survey by USBR for CBT project funded 1937 - Senate Document 80 accepted into record of Federal Law 1943 - Green Mountain Reservoir in operation 1955 - Blue River Decree signed, with continuing jurisdiction for further interpretation and effectuating the objectives of the decree 1963 - Dillon Reservoir completed
SOME HISTORY 1964 - Stipulation and Decree, first use of “continuing jurisdiction” 1977 - extreme dry year resulted in dispute over 28KAF owed to GMR storage or power 1978 – Decree limiting upstream diversions to be: Against GMR storage until fill Then Against GMR power after fill 1987/88 - Refill Water Court Apps renewed efforts to settle manner of accounting 1996 Substitution Decree adding Wolford Mtn to Denver’s sources
SOME HISTORY Growi wing de dema mand an and d low w sn snowp wpack f from 2 2000-2004 2004 focuse ses n need f d for r reso solution
SOME HISTORY 2000 - Disputed fill accounting 2001 - Dispute continued through season 2002 - extreme dry year put off dispute for year 2003 – No Consensus, temporary agreement 2004 through 2011 - State Engineer’s Green Mountain Reservoir Interim Fill Policy No precedent Described paper fill
SEO INTERIM POLICY 2004-2011 2 of 9 years of operation were substitution years – 2004 and 2011 May have had minor impact on owed to accts in only 2004, though mostly mitigated by late Shoshone call Based on bypasses greater than 60cfs and power plant operational during fill season, lost power production occurred only in 2007 and 2010
SEO INTERIM POLICY 2004-2011
NEGOTIATIONS OF ADMIN PRINCIPLES 2004-2005 efforts to establish permanent accounting principles for the Blue River 2006-2009 Impasse Jan 2010 White Paper emerged from Global Settlement negotiations 2010-2013 Negotiations between parties to Blue River Decree, Climax, and Division of Water Resources.
GREEN MOUNTAIN RES FILL PROTOCOL Jan 2013 Negotiations near completion Green Mountain Reservoir Fill Protocol 33 page document Four sections Sections 1 and 2 - Fill Administration Section 3 - CA1710 Climax priorities relative to BRD Section 4 - repayment of owed to GMR accts, a contract between the parties
GREEN MOUNTAIN RES FILL PROTOCOL Green Mountain Reservoir Fill Protocol Agreement sets out process for litigation in State Water Court and Federal District Court Court filings will be this year, too late for 2013 fill season, and may not be resolved for future seasons
2013 INTERIM FILL POLICY How will 2013 Interim Policy be issued? Same principles as 2004 – 2012 Adopt Protocol as Interim Policy Will it matter? Recent Years that it mattered: 2003 near average runoff following extremely dry year 2004 dry year runoff following near average year
2013 INTERIM FILL POLICY 2013 Snowpac ack c compar pariso ison
2013 INTERIM FILL POLICY 2013 Snow Pack and Runoff Conditions Drought Monitor Index – extreme Blue River Snotel sites 43% to 59% of average Dillon Storage January 23 rd : 2012 = 242,269 acre-feet 2013 = 173,546 acre-feet Green Mountain Storage January 23 rd : 2012 = 88,389 acre-feet 2013= 62,747 acre-feet
2013 INTERIM FILL POLICY Without Significant change in Runoff conditions the 2013 Interim Policy will have no impact on: GMR fill timing GMR power operations Accounts of storage owed to GMR
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