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001155 Steamboat lake 18 Steamboat Lake is located on Willow Creek, a tributary of the Elk River which is, in turn, tributary to the Yampa River. 'Originally built in 1966 by the Colorado Division of Parks (DOP) and Colorado.Ute, the 26,379 af facility is a very popular recreation site. The reservoir fills under storage rights for 23,068 af, both of which are junior to the Juniper Project. However, it appears that 5,000 af of storage in Steamboat Lake is a specific beneficiary of subordination by the Juniper Project and can be considered effectively senior to the Juniper rights. In recent years the DOP has filled an additional 3,511 af of the reservoir by inserting stop logs ih the service spillway. This water has been used to supplement low September and October flows downstream of the dam on Willow Creek. In 1991 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service leased 2,000 af of this supply for low flow augmentation in the lower Yampa mainstem. It is expected that this practice will continue and that the DOP will amend its storage decree accordingly. Colorado-lite holds a contract for 5,000 af of water from Steamboat Lake for use at the Hayden Station (it is this portion of the storage right that benefits from the Juniper subordination). The remainder of the water in Steamboat Lake is dedicated to recreational use. City of Steamboat Springs The City of Steamboat Springs currently diverts its municipal supply from Fish Creek. a tributary of the Yampa River, via facilities shared with the Mt. Werner Water and Sanitation District. The City's water rights on Fish Creek, which include both direct flow and storage rights, are senior to the Juniper Project. To accommodate future growth, the City has recently constructed a well field to divert water from the Yampa mainstem. The rights for these wells are relatively junior and the City contemplates an augmentation plan for their use using contract storage in Stagecoach Reservoir. In the model, the City was assumed to fully dcplete its Fish Creek sources first to meet 1989- level demands (this is consistent with recently disclosed plans (() expand water storage facilities on Fish Creek). Fish Creek hydrology.was compared to 1989-level demands to determine what portion of these demands could not historically have been satisfied from Fish Creek; that portion of 1989-level demand was assumed to be met from the mainstem well field. Steamboat Ski Area The Mt. Werner Water and Sanitation District serves the municipal needs of the resort area via diversions from Fish Creek and from the Yampa River mainstem. The District's Fish Creek rights are senior to the Juniper Project but are for direct flow only. The Vamp. mainstem diversions occur under junior rights and are augmented as necessary with releases from Stagecoach Reservoir. The Steamboat Ski Corporation diverts snowmaking water from the Yampa River mainstem under rights junior to the Juniper Project. These diversions are also augmented, if necessary, by releases from Stagecoach Reservoir. Because historical water use at the ski area prior to 1983 is negligible, no 1989.level demand adjustment is represented in the model. All ski area demands in the model are assumed to be future demands that are junior to the Juniper rights. Stagecoach Reservoir Stagecoach Reservoir is a 33,275 af reservoir located on the Yampa River mainstem between Steamboat Springs and the town of Oak Creek and operated by the Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District (UYWCD). The reservoir fills under a number of storage rights totalling 74,440 af which have . '-j;-~ ".-"', '". .,. -;! ,,_, a!;,~i