GREEN RIVER BASIN
ADVISORY GROUP
November 4, 2003
Pinedale, WY
Yampa River Endangered Species Management Plan,
Elkhead Reservoir and Enlargement, Yampa River
Basin Small Reservoir Study
Dan Birch
Colorado River Water Conservation District
Colorado River Water
Conservation District
• Created by statute in 1937, CRS 37-46-101
• Comprised of all or parts of 15 western Colorado
counties
• Covers the Colorado, Yampa, White, and
Gunnison River Basins, a total of 25% of the total
area of Colorado
• Governed by a board of 15 directors, one per
county, appointed by county commissioners
• Funded by a mill levy (current 0.25 mills) and a
water activity enterprise
CRWCD Boundaries
Colorado’s 4 Major River Basins
Platte
Colorado
Arkansas
Rio
Grande
Historic Annual Stream Flows
in Acre Feet
Role of the CRWCD
The statutory directive of the River District confers two
basic, but sometimes inconsistent, purposes:
Statewide - To conserve Colorado River water for
beneficial consumptive use and to safeguard, for all of
Colorado, the waters of the Colorado River basin to
which the state has been allocated by interstate compact
Regional - To ensure adequate water supplies for
present and future uses within the district for the growth
and development of the entire district and the welfare of
the district’s inhabitants
Geography, climate and population make these two roles a careful
balancing act
Examples of CRWCD Activities
z
Protection of West Slope interests in variety of
issues related to TMD’s
z
Construction of Projects: Wolford Reservoir,
Taylor Draw Reservoir, Elkhead Reservoir
Enlargement
z
2002 Drought Mitigation
z
Recovery Program Participation
Yampa River Endangered Species
Management Plan
Yampa River Endangered Species
Management Plan
• Identifies and offsets impacts to endangered
species due to depletions
• Addresses efforts needed for recovery: flow
augmentation, non-native species
management
• Develops alternatives and identifies
preferred alternative for flow augmentation
Yampa River Endangered Species
Management Plan
• Minimum base flow of 93 cfs needed for recovery
• 7,000 af needed to provide 93 cfs
• Alternatives for supplying 7,000 af include a
variety of existing and new storage supplies
(through reservoir enlargements) and nonstructural measures, such as interruptible supply
contracts. Enlargement of Elkhead Reservoir is
preferred alternative
Yampa River Endangered Species
Management Plan
• Plan results in PBO for basin, including the
Little Snake
• PBO recognizes 30 kaf of future depletions
in Yampa, 23kaf in Little Snake, plus 20 kaf
of additional depletions, assuming sufficient
progress
• PBO also addresses incidental take
Human Uses in the Yampa
z
Water use is driven by activity in the
agricultural, industrial, and municipal
sectors
z
Current depletions are approximately
110,000 af/yr
z
Future depletions are expected to increase
in 50-years by approximately 50,000 af/yr
Permanent Population of the Yampa
Valley 1910 - 2000
35,000
Moffat County
30,000
Residents
25,000
Routt County
Yampa Valley
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
Year
Note: Moffat County lands were included within Routt
1970
1980
1990
2000
Elkhead Reservoir Enlargement
Elkhead Enlargement Mission
. . . To double the water storage capacity
of Elkhead Reservoir for the benefit of
present and future water users and to
recover and delist the endangered fish
species of the Yampa River basin
Elkhead Technical Aspects
•
•
•
•
•
Existing capacity 13,000 af
20- foot dam raise/12,000 af enlargement
Project cost: $19.5MM
$1,700/AF
7,000 af for fish: 5,000 af permanent
allotment, 2,000 af 20-year lease
• 5,000 af for human uses through long-term
lease from CRWCD
Elkhead Institutional Aspects
• Reservoir owned by City of Craig with bulk of
capacity owned by Yampa Participants,
consortium of power companies with generating
capacity at Craig Station
• About a dozen agreements needed: City of Craig
(3), Yampa Participants (2), Colorado (4),
UYWCD, Recovery Program
• Recovery Program share of project cost, $8.75MM
Elkhead Schedule
• Complete agreements by end of year
• Submit 404 permit application November,
2003
• Final engineering, January – July, 2004
• Bidding, Fall, 2004
• Start construction, Last Quarter, 2004
• Construction 2005-2006
Yampa River Basin
Small Reservoir Study
Yampa River Basin
Small Reservoir Study
• Looked primarily at reservoir sites <2,000 af
• Purpose to augment agricultural supplies,
primarily hay production
• Costs generally $2,000 - $4,000/af
• Ag cannot afford storage
• Looking at coupling storage with efficiency
improvements
• Need other sources of project sponsorship
Yampa River Basin
Small Reservoir Study
• Looking at three sites in conjunction with
Little Snake District
– Willow Creek
– Pot Hook
– South Fork