The stipulation dated January 14, 1953, is approved; and
It is ordered that the decree of October 8, 1945, is hereby
modified and supplemented as follows:
1. In paragraph I(a) of the decree the figure "145,000" is
substituted for the figure "135,000."
2. Paragraph XIII is amended by striking the first sentence and
substituting for it the following:
"Any of the parties may apply at the foot of this decree for its
amendment or for further relief, except that for a period of five
years from and after June 15, 1953 the State of Colorado shall not
institute any proceedings for the amendment of the decree or for
further relief. In the event that within said period of five years,
any other party applies for an amendment of the decree or for
further relief, then the State of Colorado may assert any and all
rights, claims or defenses available to it under the decree as
amended."
3. Two new paragraphs, as follows, are added to the decree:
"XVI. Whatever claims or defenses the parties or any of them may
have in respect to the application,
Page 345 U. S. 982
interpretation or construction of the Act of August 9, 1937, 50
Stat. 564-595, shall be determined without prejudice to any party
arising because of any development of the Kendrick Project
occurring subsequent to October 1, 1951."
"XVII. When the Glendo Dam and Reservoir are constructed, the
following provisions shall be effective:"
"(a) The construction and operation of the Glendo Project shall
not impose any demand on areas at or above Seminoe Reservoir which
will prejudice any rights that the States of Colorado or Wyoming
might have to secure a modification of the decree permitting an
expansion of water uses in the natural basin of the North Platte
River in Colorado or above Seminoe Reservoir in Wyoming."
"(b) The construction and operation of Glendo Reservoir shall
not affect the regimen of the natural flow of the North Platte
River above Pathfinder Dam. The regimen of the natural flow of the
North Platte River below Pathfinder Dam shall not be changed,
except that not more than 40,000 acre feet of the natural flow of
the North Platte River and its tributaries which cannot be stored
in upstream reservoirs under the provisions of this decree may be
stored in the Glendo Reservoir during any water year, in addition
to evaporation losses on such storage, and further, the amount of
such storage water that may be held in storage at any one time,
including carryover storage, shall never exceed 100,000 acre feet.
Such storage water shall be disposed of in accordance with
contracts to be hereafter executed, and it may be used for the
irrigation of lands in the basin of the North Platte River in
western Nebraska to the extent
Page 345 U. S. 983
of 25,000 acre feet annually, and for the irrigation of lands in
the basin of the North Platte River in southeastern Wyoming below
Guernsey Reservoir to the extent of 15,000 acre feet annually,
provided that it shall not be used as a substitute for storage
water contracted for under any existing permanent arrangements. The
above limitation on storage of natural flow does not apply to
floodwater which may be temporarily stored in any capacity
allocated for flood control in the Glendo Reservoir, nor to water
originally stored in Pathfinder Reservoir which may be temporarily
re-stored in Glendo Reservoir after its release from Pathfinder and
before its delivery pursuant to contract, nor to water which may be
impounded behind Glendo Dam, as provided in the Bureau of
Reclamation Definite Plan Report for the Glendo Unit dated December
1952, for the purpose of creating a head for the development of
water power."
"(c) Paragraph III of the decree is amended to read as
follows:"
"III. The State of Wyoming, its officers, attorneys, agents and
employees, be and they are hereby severally enjoined from storing
or permitting the storage of water in Pathfinder, Guernsey,
Seminoe, Alcova and Glendo Reservoirs otherwise than in accordance
with the relative storage rights, as among themselves, of such
reservoirs, which are hereby defined and fixed as follows:"
"First, Pathfinder Reservoir;"
"Second, Guernsey Reservoir;"
"Third, Seminoe Reservoir;"
"Fourth, Alcova Reservoir; and"
"Fifth, Glendo Reservoir;"
Page 345 U. S. 984
"Provided however that water may be impounded in or released
from Seminoe Reservoir, contrary to the foregoing rule of priority
operation for use in the generation of electric power when and only
when such storage or release will not materially interfere with the
administration of water for irrigation purposes according to the
priority decreed for the French Canal and the State Line
Canals."
"Storage rights of Glendo Reservoir shall be subject to the
provisions of this paragraph III."
"(d) Paragraph IV of the decree is amended to read as
follows:"
"IV. The State of Wyoming, its officers, attorneys, agents and
employees be and they are hereby severally enjoined from storing or
permitting the storage of water in Pathfinder, Guernsey, Seminoe,
Alcova and Glendo Reservoirs, and from the diversion of natural
flow water through the Casper Canal for the Kendrick Project
between and including May 1 and September 30 of each year otherwise
than in accordance with the rule of priority in relation to the
appropriations of the Nebraska lands supplied by the French Canal
and by the State Line Canals, which said Nebraska appropriations
are hereby adjudged to be senior to said five reservoirs and said
Casper Canal, and which said Nebraska appropriations are hereby
identified and defined, and their diversion limitations in second
feet and seasonal limitations in acre feet fixed as follows:"
in Sec. Limitation
Lands Canal Feet in Acre Ft.
Tract of 1025 acres French 15 2,227
Mitchell Irrigation District Mitchell 195 35,000
Gering Irrigation District Gering 193 36,000
Farmers Irrigation District Tri-State 748 183,000
Ramshorn Irrigation District Ramshorn 14 3,000
Page 345 U. S. 985
"(e) Paragraph V of the decree is amended to read as
follows:"
"V. The natural flow in the Guernsey Dam to TriState Dam section
between and including May 1 and September 30 of each year,
including the contribution of Spring Creek, be and the same hereby
is apportioned between Wyoming and Nebraska on the basis of
twentyfive per cent to Wyoming and seventyfive per cent to
Nebraska, with the right granted Nebraska to designate from time to
time the portion of its share which shall be delivered into the
Interstate, Fort Laramie, French and Mitchell Canals for use on the
Nebraska lands served by these canals. The State of Nebraska, its
officers, attorneys, agents and employees, and the State of
Wyoming, its officers, attorneys, agents and employees, are hereby
enjoined and restrained from diversion or use contrary to this
apportionment, provided that in the apportionment of water in this
section the flow for each day, until ascertainable, shall be
assumed to be the same as that of the preceding day, as shown by
the measurements and computations for that day, and provided
further, that unless and until Nebraska, Wyoming and the United
States agree upon a modification thereof, or upon another formula,
reservoir evaporation and transportation losses in the segregation
of natural flow and storage shall be computed in accordance with
the following formula taken from United States' Exhibit 204A and
the stipulation of the parties dated January 14, 1953, and filed on
January 30, 1953:"
"Reservoir Evaporation Losses."
"Seminoe, Pathfinder and Alcova Reservoirs."
"Evaporation will be computed daily based upon evaporation from
Weather Bureau Standard
Page 345 U. S. 986
4 foot diameter Class 'A' pan located at Pathfinder Reservoir.
Daily evaporation will be multiplied by area of water surface of
reservoir in acres and by coefficient of 70% to reduce pan record
to open water surface."
"Glendo and Guernsey Reservoirs."
"Compute same as above except use pan evaporation at Whalen
Dam."
"River Carriage Losses."
"River carriage losses will be computed upon basis of area of
river water surface as determined by aerial surveys made in 1939
and previous years and upon average monthly evaporation at
Pathfinder reservoir for the period 1921 to 1939, inclusive, using
a coefficient of 70% to reduce pan records to open water
surface."
"Daily evaporation losses in secondfeet for various sections of
the river are shown in the following table:"
------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE
------------------------------------------------------------------
Area Daily Loss -- Second Feet
River Section Acres May June July Aug. Sept.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Alcova to Glendo Reservoir 6,740 43 61 70 61 43
Guernsey Reservoir to Whalen 560 4 5 6 5 4
Whalen to State Line 2,430 16 22 25 22 16
------------------------------------------------------------------
Above table is based upon mean evaporation at Pathfinder as
follows: May .561 ft.; June .767 ft.; July .910 ft.; Aug. .799 ft.;
Sept. .568 ft. Coefficient of 70% to reduce pan record to open
water surface.
Above table does not contain computed loss for section of river
from Glendo Dam to head of Guernsey Reservoir (area 680 acres),
because this area is less than submerged area of original river bed
(940
Page 345 U. S. 987
acres) in Glendo Reservoir and is therefore considered as
offset.
Above table does not contain computed loss for section of river
from Pathfinder Dam to head of Alcova Reservoir (area 170 acres),
because this area is less than submerged area of original river bed
in Alcova Reservoir and is therefore considered as offset.
Likewise the area between Seminoe Dam and head of Pathfinder
Reservoir is less than area of original river bed through
Pathfinder Reservoir -- considered as offset. Evaporation losses
will be divided between natural flow and storage water flowing in
any section of river channel upon a proportional basis. This
proportion will ordinarily be determined at the upper end of the
section except under conditions of intervening accruals or
diversions that materially change the ratio of storage to natural
flow at the lower end of the section. In such event the average
proportion for the section will be determined by using the mean
ratio for the two ends of the section.
In the determination of transportation losses for the various
sections of the stream, such time intervals for the passage of
water from point to point shall be used as may be agreed upon by
Nebraska, Wyoming, and the United States, or in the absence of such
agreement, as may be decided upon from day to day by the manager of
the government reservoirs, with such adjustments to be made by said
manager from time to time as may be necessary to make as accurate a
segregation as is possible.