Aspinall Unit update: Deliveries through the Gunnison Tunnel to start on Monday, spring has sprung

From email from Reclamation (Dan Crabtree):

For those that work in an office all day and haven’t noticed, it has become quite warm outside. It appears spring has arrived and with that, it is time for the Gunnison Tunnel to start diverting water. The Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association (UVWUA) plans to start tunnel diversions on Monday, March 19th. Initially diversions will start at 200 cfs. At this same time the UVWUA will need to complete some repair work on the apron of the diversion dam. This will require flows in the Gunnison River be reduced to approximately 400 cfs so that no water is spilling over the diversion dam. Work on the dam apron will be completed by the end of Tuesday, March 20th. At this time, Crystal Dam will increase releases by 100 cfs while the Gunnison Tunnel continues diverting 200 cfs. The resulting flow in the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon will be around 500 cfs.

Gunnison Tunnel diversions may increase later in the week of the 19th and releases at Crystal will be increased accordingly to maintain the 500 cfs flow in the Gunnison River.

Under the current forecast, Reclamation plans to operate the Aspinall Unit to allow the Black Canyon of the Gunnison one day peak flow target of approximately 2,200 cfs to be met; the timing of which is unknown at this time.

As a reminder, the April Aspinall Operations Meeting will be held in Reclamation’s Western Colorado Area Office, Grand Junction location, on April 26th beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Please contact Dan Crabtree or Erik Knight at the Bureau of Reclamation with questions regarding this operation.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Reclamation Releases Final Aspinall Unit Operations Environmental Impact Statement

Here’s the release from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Steve McCall/Justyn Hock):

Reclamation’s Western Colorado Area Office announced today the release of the final Aspinall Unit Operations Environmental Impact Statement. The purpose of the EIS is to outline Aspinall Unit operations to avoid jeopardy to downstream endangered fish species while continuing to meet the congressionally authorized unit purposes. In general, new operations will provide higher spring flows and protect base flows in the Gunnison River. Reclamation will not make a decision on the proposed action until at least 30 days after release of the FEIS. After the 30-day public review period, Reclamation will complete a record of decision which will state the action to be implemented and discuss all factors leading to that decision.

If you have questions or need additional copies of the final EIS, please contact Steve McCall at 970-248-0638 or Terry Stroh at 970-248-0608. The final EIS is also available on Reclamation’s web site.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Blue Mesa Dam: ‘The reservoir took away small communities, family homes, fishing resorts, a way of life’ — Delta County Independent

From the Delta County Independent (Kathy Browning):

This winter the museum has had eight presentations on pioneer families and others who made a difference in the community. Two more presentations are scheduled. On March 17 at 1:30 p.m. at the museum, Danny Cotten will give a presentation on sawmills on Black Mesa and in the Crawford area and also the Diamond JO cattle outfit in the 1880s. April 21 at 1:30 p.m., Ross Allen will talk about the Allen family and their influence on the area.

David Primus, Gunnison author and historian, gave a presentation, “Beneath Blue Mesa.” The dam was completed in 1965 on the Gunnison River about 30 miles west of Gunnison, 30 miles east of Montrose and within 1-1/2 miles of Sapinero.

Primus shared what it was like before the dam and reservoir were created. There were homes, hotels, fishing resorts, train service, bridges and cattle ranches in the small towns that were in the area. To make the area ready for the new dam and reservoir, those hotels and homes were moved or burned to the ground. Bridges were left standing and are now beneath a mountainous amount of water. The slide show featured a final cattle round up, trains connecting people and commerce, a group of boaters and fishermen and women who called themselves the Gunnison Navy and the grand opening ceremony for the Blue Mesa.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Reclamation To Issue a Lease of Power Privilege Permit for a Proposed Hydropower Project on the South Canal Near Montrose

Here’s the release from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Steve McCall/Justyn Hock):

Reclamation announced today that it will issue a Lease of Power Privilege to the Delta-Montrose Electric Association and the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association to develop hydropower resources on the South Canal, a feature of Reclamation’s Uncompahgre Irrigation Project.

Reclamation will issue the LOPP based on the final environmental assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for the proposal. These documents have been completed in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act to address the effects of the construction and operation of hydropower facilities.

Federal policy encourages non-federal development of environmentally sustainable hydropower potential on federal water resource projects. The LOPP will ensure that the development of hydropower is consistent and compatible with existing operations and purposes of the Uncompahgre Project.

The final EA and FONSI are available on Reclamation’s web site or a copy can be obtained by contacting Steve McCall at (970)248-0638.

More coverage from Katharhynn Heidelberg writing for the Montrose Daily Press. From the article:

“It’s big news for us and big news for the Western Slope,” said Tom Polikalis, DMEA spokesman. “This will be the first utility scale project undertaken” by DMEA…

Plans are to construct two power houses on the South Canal, starting with a location at the far eastern end of Miguel Road. A second power house is to be built about 1.5 miles downstream on the canal’s “third” drop. When the project is complete, and depending on canal flows, DMEA expects to generate 6.5 to 7 megawatts — enough for 3,000 homes. (A megawatt is 1,000 kilowatts.)

More hydroelectric coverage here.

Blue Mesa Reservoir may be home to a pre-1922 water bank for Front Range suppliers in case of a Colorado River Compact call

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The Arkansas Basin and Gunnison Basin roundtables are collaborating on a project to see whether water from pre-1922 water rights in the Gunnison River basin could be banked in Blue Mesa Reservoir as a hedge against a Colorado River Compact call…

A call could affect transmountain diversions like the Colorado-Big Thompson project, Denver Water’s diversions, Twin Lakes and the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project because they rely on post-1922 water rights. There also could be an impact on Western Slope water rights claimed after 1922…

The joint roundtable group plans to meet again on March 19 and report on the progress of the water bank plan at the meeting of the Colorado Water Conservation Board the following day, [Jim Broderick, executive director of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District] said. There also are questions about whether Blue Mesa Reservoir can be operated for water bank storage, but the state should develop a specific proposal before that can be explored, Broderick said.

More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here.

Aspinall Unit operations update: Flows in the Black Canyon around 600 cfs, forecasted inflows to Blue Mesa — 450,000 acre-feet

From email from Reclamation (Erik Knight):

The February 1st forecast is out and the prediction is still for 450,000 acre-feet of inflow to Blue Mesa Reservoir during the April-July runoff period. This represents 67% of the current 30 year average. In response to the continuing dry conditions, releases at Crystal Dam will be reduced by 200 cfs on Wednesday, February 8th. This will bring releases down to 600 cfs and with no Gunnison Tunnel diversions, flows in the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon should also be around 600 cfs.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit update: Reclamation is forecasting 450,000 acre-feet (67% of 30 year average) of inflow to Blue Mesa Reservoir

From email from Reclamation (Erik Knight):

The January 1st forecast is out and the prediction is for 450,000 acre-feet of inflow to Blue Mesa Reservoir during the April-July runoff period. This represents 67% of the current 30 year average. In response to this dry forecast releases at Crystal Dam will be reduced by 300 cfs on Wednesday, January 11th. This will bring releases down to 800 cfs and with no Gunnison Tunnel diversions, flows in the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon should also be around 800 cfs…

As a reminder the next Aspinall Operations meeting will be held on Thursday, January 19th, at 1:00 p.m. in Montrose at the Holiday Inn Express. We have tentatively scheduled a presentation by Vern Jetley, a retired Reclamation photographer who will be talking about the construction history of Blue Mesa dam/reservoir.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Montrose: Aspinall Unit operations meeting January 19

From email from Reclamation (Dan Crabtree):

As of midnight December 26th, Blue Mesa Reservoir reached the icing target elevation of 7490.0 feet. Due to the dry conditions over the last month and early arrival at the icing target, it is appropriate to begin conserving reservoir storage in case the drying trend continues. As a result, releases from the Crystal Dam will be gradually reduced from 1500 cfs to 1100 cfs over the course of the day (December 28th).

Also, please mark your calendars for the next Aspinall Operations Meeting which will be held on January 19th at the Holiday Inn Express in Montrose, Colorado beginning at 1:00 p.m. We have tentatively scheduled a presentation by Vern Jetley, a retired Reclamation photographer who will be talking about the Blue Mesa area prior to construction of the project. Should be interesting.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife reports a good Kokannee salmon spawning run this season at Blue Mesa Reservoir

From the Summit County Citizens Voice (Bob Berwyn):

Colorado Parks and Wildlife collected 11 million eggs from kokanee salmon running out of Blue Mesa Reservoir this fall. The record harvest will ensure that Colorado Parks and Wildlife will have adequate supplies for stocking 26 reservoirs around the state with salmon fry next year. But biologists say much more work needs to be done before they declare the population of kokanee salmon in the 9,000-acre reservoir recovered. Kokanee numbers have declined precipitously during the past 10 years as the population of predatory lake trout boomed, knocking the fishery out of balance. “One good spawning run does not mean we’ve fixed the problems,” said John Alves, senior aquatic biologist for Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s southwest region. “Blue Mesa is critical for our statewide kokanee program and the fishery is out of balance. There is no quick fix.”

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit update: Reclamation’s winter target for Blue Mesa Reservoir — down to 7490 ft by December 31

From email from Reclamtion (Erik Knight):

Over the last couple months, releases at the Aspinall Unit have been lowered to accommodate maintenance activities at the powerplants at Blue Mesa and Morrow Point reservoirs, as well as for the brown trout spawn. These events have concluded and releases will now be increased to bring the elevation in Blue Mesa Reservoir down to the winter ice target elevation of 7490 ft by December 31st.

Releases from Crystal Dam will be increased by 200 cfs on Monday, November 21st. Another increase of 200 cfs is expected to be made the following Monday, November 28th. This will bring the total release up to 1000 cfs. Additional increases will be made in the first days of December to bring the total release from Crystal to 1550 cfs. Since there are no diversions to the Gunnison Tunnel at this time of year, flows in the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon will be in the 1500 to 1600 cfs range after the completion of these release changes.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit update: 600 cfs in the Black Canyon next week — target level for the brown trout spawn

From email from Reclamation (Erik Knight):

As per normal fall reservoir operations, releases from the Aspinall Unit will be decreased over the next few weeks in response to the seasonal shutdown of the Gunnison Tunnel and the brown trout spawn. Gunnison Tunnel diversions were decreased by 100 cfs yesterday so releases from Crystal will follow this and make an additional 100 cfs reduction today, October 11th. This total reduction of 200 cfs will bring Crystal releases down to 1600 cfs and flows in the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon down to 850 cfs by the end of today. This year’s river target level for the brown trout spawn will be 600 cfs which will be reached sometime within the next week.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit update: 950 cfs in the Gunnison River through Black Canyon

From email from Reclamation (Erik Knight):

Currently flows in the Gunnison River through the canyon are about 950 cfs. We expect no changes to this flow rate until mid-October when flows will be reduced to accommodate the brown trout spawn. River flows should be around 600 cfs during the time of the spawn. This will continue until the conclusion of the spawn in mid-November at which point flows in the river will increase to around 1000 cfs. Flows through the Black Canyon may increase again in December as releases from the Aspinall Unit will most likely need to be higher than 1000 cfs to lower Blue Mesa Reservoir to the Dec 31st winter target elevation.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit operations meeting August 18

From email from Reclamation (Dan Crabtree):

The 2011 August Aspinall Operation meeting will be held starting at 1:00 p.m. on August 18th at the Elk Creek Visitors Center located on the balmy banks of beautiful Blue Mesa Reservoir. The meeting will last 2 – 3 hours depending on the depth of discussions and questions. We will be reviewing operations from this past spring and summer along with projected operations for the coming fall. The meeting is open to the public and we look forward to your questions and reports regarding activities related to operations of the Aspinall Unit. Agenda ideas are welcome.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit 2011 operations meeting August 18

From email from Reclamation (Dan Crabtree):

As a reminder, the 2011 August Aspinall Operation meeting will be held starting at 1:00 p.m. on August 18th at the Elk Creek Visitors Center located on the balmy banks of beautiful Blue Mesa Reservoir. The meeting will last 2 – 3 hours depending on the depth of discussions and questions. We will be reviewing operations from this past spring and summer along with projected operations for the coming fall. The meeting is open to the public and we look forward to your questions and reports regarding activities related to operations of the Aspinall Unit.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit update: Releases from Crystal Dam to drop 1,100 cfs over 6 days

From email from Reclamation (Erik Knight):

With inflows to Blue Mesa Reservoir decreasing towards summer base flow levels, it appears to be time to reduce releases at Crystal Reservoir with the intention of ending the bypass releases. Blue Mesa Reservoir elevation peaked at 7519.25 feet on July 17th and now the reservoir is down to 7517.4 feet. Releases at Crystal Dam will be decreased by a total of 1100 cfs over the next 6 days, starting Saturday morning, July 30th and ending Thursday morning, August 4th. Releases will be decreased 200 cfs a day with a 100 cfs change occurring twice a day until the bypass release at Crystal Dam has ended. This should bring flows in the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon down to around 1100 cfs by Thursday afternoon.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit update: Inflows drop, Reclamation to start dropping outflows, 2,200 cfs in the Black Canyon Wednesday

From email from Reclamation (Erik Knight):

Inflows to Blue Mesa Reservoir have been steadily decreasing over the last week and side inflows to Morrow Point and Crystal Reservoirs have dropped significantly. Blue Mesa Reservoir is now at elevation 7518.2 and both Morrow Point and Crystal Reservoirs have lost some storage over the last week. Therefore releases from Crystal Reservoir will be decreased by a total of 500 cfs over the next 2 days. Flows will decrease 300 cfs today, July 26th, and 200 cfs tomorrow, July 27th. This should bring flows in the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon down to around 2200 cfs by Wednesday afternoon.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit update: 2,800 cfs in the Gunnison River through Black Canyon and the Gunnison Gorge

From email from Reclamation (Erik Knight):

After 2 weeks of steady inflow to the Aspinall Unit the forecast has finally come true – inflows to the Unit actually decreased over this past weekend. Blue Mesa Reservoir has filled to within 0.2 feet of full but the decrease in the side inflows has caused the elevation in Crystal Reservoir to drop significantly. Therefore releases at Crystal Reservoir will be decreased by a total of 600 cfs over the next 3 days. Flows will decrease 200 cfs a day, starting today, July 18th, and ending on Wednesday, July 20th. This should bring flows in the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon down to 2800 cfs by early Wednesday.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit update: Eric Knight — ‘The bottomless well of snowmelt and precipitation continues to hold inflows into Blue Mesa Reservoir above all predictions’

Click on the thumbnail graphic to the right for a screenshot of the Crystal Dam Spill in 2009.

From email from Reclamation (Erik Knight):

While this may appear to be an accidental resend of yesterday’s notice, it is in fact another notice of a release increase for the Aspinall Unit. The bottomless well of snowmelt and precipitation continues to hold inflows into Blue Mesa Reservoir above all predictions. Maybe one day inflows will actually decrease but it certainly wasn’t yesterday. Therefore releases from Crystal Dam will be increased by a total of 400 cfs over the next 2 days. This increase will be done in 200 cfs increments, one this afternoon, Thursday, July 14th, and one early Friday morning, July 15th. Flows in the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon are expected to increase from 2950 cfs to around 3350 cfs by Friday, July 15th. This change will put Crystal Dam at full powerplant and bypass releases. Any further increases will mostly likely result in a spill at Crystal Dam. This is not expected to occur but there is a possibility if inflows continue at their current level.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit update: Flows in the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon should be around 2,950 cfs by Thursday

From email from Reclamation (Erik Knight):

Our pattern of good fortune continues. Late season snowmelt in combination with the early season monsoon rains has kept inflows from receding as previously (and continuously predicted). Blue Mesa Reservoir continues to rise at 0.5 feet per day and is now at an elevation of 7518.35 feet. While inflows are expected to recede in the next few days as the monsoon rains take a brief hiatus, the current rate of fill would have Blue Mesa Reservoir spilling within 3 days. Therefore in keeping with the theme of always receiving more inflow than expected, releases from Crystal Dam will be increased by a total of 400 cfs over the next 2 days. This increase will be done in 200 cfs increments, one on Wednesday, July 13th in the early evening, and one early Thursday morning, July 14th. This should preserve the safety of any potential visitors to the canyon and provide all aquatic creatures with sufficient time to become reacquainted with these higher flows. Flows in the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon are expected to increase from 2550 cfs to around 2950 cfs by Thursday, July 14th.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit update: Reclamation is bumping releases from Crystal Reservoir to avoid a possible Blue Mesa spill

From email from Reclamation (Dan Crabtree):

We continued to be blessed with higher than expected inflows due to late season snowmelt, and now, early season monsoonal moisture. Blue Mesa Reservoir has been rising about 0.7 feet per day and is now at an elevation of 7517.3 feet. Bountiful inflows are expected over the next few days and if releases are not increased there is a definite possibility that Blue Mesa Reservoir could spill. In order to avoid this undesirable event, releases from Crystal Dam will be increased by a total of 800 cfs over the next 3 days. Flows in the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon are expected to increase from a gage reading of 1750 cfs to around 2550 cfs by Wednesday, July 13th. Release changes will be done in 200 cfs increments, well below the recommended maximum ramp-up rate of 500 cfs per day, in order to preserve the safety of any potential visitors to the canyon and to provide a smooth flow increase that all fish can enjoy. We are quite fortunate that river flows in this range (>2000 cfs) will actually provide nearly ideal conditions for this year’s late rainbow trout emergence by providing increased fry habitat as the river level exceeds bankfull within the canyon. This should be of great benefit to all recreational users of the canyon – maybe not immediately, but certainly for the future.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit update: Blue Mesa is filling quicker than expected, streamflow was 4,600 cfs into the reservoir yesterday

From email from Reclamation (Dan Crabtree):

The runoff just keeps coming! This year’s runoff has been exceptionally difficult to predict in the Gunnison Basin. For example, a week ago, the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center’s model predicted inflows to Blue Mesa for July 6th of about 3,200 cfs and declining. Actual inflow today is about 4,600 cfs which is obviously causing Blue Mesa Reservoir to fill quicker than expected.

To compensate, releases from Crystal Dam will be increased by 550 cfs over the next few days. No single change is planned to exceed 200 cfs. In addition, the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users have again reduced their Gunnison Tunnel Diversions by 100 cfs due to increased flows on the Uncompahgre River which are meeting their needs. As a result of these changes, the Gunnison River gage located below the East Portal of the Gunnison Tunnel will read about 1,700 cfs by mid-morning on July 9th ; up from this morning’s flow of 1,080 cfs. Additional changes may be necessary next week as conditions are reassessed.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit update: Reclamation is turning back releases to meet a mid-July target flow of 2,100 cfs

From email from Reclamation (Dan Crabtree):

As the runoff continues to subside, Reclamation believes it is necessary to further reduce flows in the Gunnison River below the Aspinall Unit. The Colorado Basin River Forecast Center is showing inflow to Blue Mesa continuing to drop from the current level of around 5,000 cfs to 2,100 cfs by mid July. The Uncompahgre Valley Water Users, who had reduced diversions through the Gunnison Tunnel a week ago because the Uncompahgre River was filling their needs, are now in need of filling the Tunnel. To facilitate the filling of Blue Mesa Reservoir, Reclamation will not be matching their increased diversions, which will take place starting on Thursday, June 30th, with increased releases from the Aspinall Unit. This will result in a flow reduction in the Gunnison River of approximately 200 cfs bringing flows in the Canyon and Gorge to around 1,100 cfs as measured at the gage below the Gunnison Tunnel. We know this is inconsistent with information previously provided, but hydrologic conditions are constantly changing and we must react to current circumstances and forecasts.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit update: 2,100 cfs in the Black Canyon and Gunnison Gorge

From email from Reclamation (Dan Crabtree):

Blue Mesa Reservoir has filled to about elevation 7491 ft leaving 28 ft or 242,000 ac-ft to fill. At the current rate of inflow and outflow, it would take over a month to fill the reservoir. As a result, after assessing the latest April through July forecast and the current runoff rates into the Aspinall Unit, Reclamation has decided to further reduce releases from the Aspinall Unit in order to slightly accelerate the fill of Blue Mesa Reservoir. This release reduction will begin on Friday, June 17th, continue through the weekend, and result in a Gunnison River flow of about 2,100 cfs through the Black Canyon and Gunnison Gorge.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit update: Reclamation is ramping down the high-flow regime for Black Canyon, the target is to reduce to 3,100 cfs by next week

From email from Reclamation (Dan Crabtree):

Releases from the Aspinall Unit have begun to decrease this afternoon. Provisional data from the USGS shows the Black Canyon 24 hour peak target flow of 6,793 cfs is expected to be completed by about 7:00 p.m. this evening. Current Black Canyon flow is 7,040 cfs. The Unit will continue to be ramped down over the next several days until reaching a flow of about 3,100 cfs next week. The instantaneous flows at Delta, Colorado reached a maximum of 13,700 cfs this morning inundating small lower portions of agricultural fields west of Delta. The instantaneous flow at Whitewater reached a maximum of 14,900 cfs this afternoon.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Aspinall Unit update: 11,000 cfs in the Gunnison at Delta

From email from Reclamation (Dan Crabtree):

Gunnison River flows in the Black Canyon and Gunnison Gorge are currently at 5,100 cfs and continuing to climb. We are still anticipating a peak flow of around 6,900 cfs in this reach tomorrow, June 7th or the following day. Flows at Delta are nearly 11,000 cfs and should peak at about 13,000 cfs late June 7th or early June 8th. We still anticipate slowly ramping down releases from the Aspinall Unit beginning June 9th and stabilizing at around 3,100 cfs in the Canyon and Gorge around June 14th.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.