United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
EL PASO FIELD DIVISION
700 SAN ANTONIO AVENUE, RM. 710
EL PASO, TEXAS 79901-7020
IN REPLY REFER TO:
EP-433
WTR-4.00
Dear Addressee:
Enclosed are the latest historical and projected Elephant Butte & Caballo Reservoirs’ storage and elevation figures for the period of October 1998 through October 2000. Actual end-of-month reservoir storage and elevation are indicated by asterisks. All other end-of month storage and elevation data are projected, and are SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
By the end of July, the water level at Elephant Butte Reservoir decreased by 2.88 feet from the previous month to an elevation of 4384.30 feet and a storage of 1,351,700 acre-feet; it is expected to decrease by approximately 3.65 feet to an elevation of 4380.65 feet and a storage of 1,257,400 acre-feet by the end of August 2000; it is then expected to further decrease by 2.36 feet to an elevation of 4378.29 feet and a storage of 1,199,100 acre-feet by the end of October.
By the end of July, the water level at Caballo Reservoir decreased by 6.38 feet from the previous month, to an elevation of 4143.46 feet and a storage of 44,630 acre-feet; it is expected to decrease by approximately 1.42 feet to an elevation of 4142.04 feet and a storage of 39,900 acre-feet by the end of August 2000; it is then expected to further decrease by 1.90 feet to an elevation of 4140.14 feet and a storage of 34,170 acre-feet by the end of October.
A fire incident occurred on one of the transformers at Elephant Butte Power Plant on July 22, losing all capability to generate power, and to release water through the generators, due to the loss of the transformers. Therefore, releases from Elephant Butte started being made through two balanced valves at a rate of 2,100 cubic feet per second (cfs) in order to meet irrigation demand; this flow was trimmed down to 1,500 cfs on August 14 and will continue until the generators come back on line. The transformers are still being repaired and work is expected to be completed around August 25.
Sincerely,
Filiberto Cortez
Manager, El Paso Field Division
Encl - 1
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