Releases from Davis and Parker dams will vary from about 4,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 14,000 cfs during a 24-hour period. River levels will vary during the 24-hour periods with the higher levels coinciding with periods of peak hydroelectric power generation. Levels below the dams are usually highest during the afternoon and early evening. Average daily releases may vary in response to changing conditions.

Average daily releases and midnight lake elevations for the week, as well as anticipated averages for the following 2 weeks, are scheduled as follows:

            Parker             Davis              Hoover         
            Dam       Lake     Dam       Lake     Dam       Lake 
            Average   Havasu   Average   Mohave   Average   Mead 
            Release   Elev.    Release   Elev.    Release   Elev.
Date        (cfs)     (ft)     (cfs)     (ft)     (cfs)     (ft) 
----        -----     ----     -----     ----     -----     ---- 
Sep 24       9200    447.5     10700    640.7      9600    1115.5
Sep 25       9200    447.3     10700    640.6      9600    1115.4
Sep 26       8200    447.3     10500    640.5      9600    1115.4
Sep 27       7500    447.4     10500    640.4      9600    1115.4
Sep 28       9000    447.3     10500    640.3      9600    1115.3
Sep 29       9000    447.1     10500    640.0      6000    1115.4
Sep 30       9000    447.0     10500    639.6      6000    1115.4

Average      8700              10600               8600

Oct  1 to
Oct  7       8000    446.6      9800    638.8      8500    1115.3

Oct  8 to
Oct 14       7600    446.8     10200    636.4      5900    1115.5

Current Lake Powell storage is 14,005 thousand acre-feet (KAF) (58 percent of capacity). Lake Mead storage is 13,162 KAF (50 percent of capacity). Total system storage is 34,259 KAF (57 percent of capacity). Lake Powell elevation is 3,622.27 feet.

The observed April-July inflow for the Colorado River is 2.063 million acre-feet or 29 percent of average.

Yesterday, the average Colorado River flows were 943 cfs near the Yuma Fourth Avenue Bridge and 1,268 cfs at the Northerly International Boundary. The average release from Painted Rock Dam was 0 cfs and Alamo Dam was 25 cfs. The Morelos Dam diversions for the week of 24-Sep-2012 are expected to be 1,314 cfs.

ALL RIVER USERS should remember that fluctuating river flows may conceal or create natural hazards such as moving sandbars, gravel bars, unstable riverbanks, floating or submerged debris, or other unfamiliar obstacles. Caution should be exercised while using the river between Davis Dam and the Mexican Border at San Luis, Arizona.