The Shoshone Outage Protocol (“ShOP”) is an important agreement and when implemented, it has added flow that helps to protect river conditions. However, the ShOP Agreement has a limited term and falls short of permanently protecting the Shoshone flows. With a duration of only 32 more years, ShOP would not guarantee Colorado River flow security in the long term, and today’s water managers need to be planning far beyond a few decades given the hotter, drier, and more uncertain water future. In addition, without an Act of Congress, the ShOP agreement will continue to be subject to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s 40-year water supply contract limit. 

ShOP does not provide the certainty of a state water court decree and does not equate to the historic exercise of the Shoshone water rights. When fully exercised, Shoshone commands up to 1,408 cfs compared to the more limited to 1,250 cfs summer and 900 cfs winter flows volunteered by ShOP participants.