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'"' 'I I " , ". 37,2J RUEDI DAM AND RESERVOIR, COLO. 29~ HYDROLOGY IntJ'odu.ction In terms of water supply and storage capacity, Ruedi Dam and Reservoir will be, more than a substitute for Aspen Dam and Reser- yair. The wat.er supply and storage Spttce in Rue~i which is not required for replacement purposes cfLn serve benefiCIal uses on the western slope in Colorado. The reservoir also would provide uses. a!HI benefits for such associated flmctions as flood control, fish and wildlife conservation, and recrea.tion. . In view of the vast oil shale reserves in western Colorado, the extensi'-e investments made in experimentation and acquisition of, shale lands, and t,he imminence of commercial oil shale development, the teuta(,j re plan of operation adopted for analysis in this report is based on use of water for municipal and industrial purposes. Water 8"'Pl,ly No historical streamflow records of the FrvingplUl River are avail- able at the Ruedi Dam site. However, riverilow records are available at the former ThomasvilIe gaging station about 6 miles upstream from the damsite, for a lO-yea,r period-Wll to 1920. The Thomasville gaging station commanded a. draina-ge area of 175 square miles as contrasted with n 22S-squnre-mile fl.rea aboye t.he Ruedi Dam site. During prexlous inve..s.tigations in recent years the unde.pleted flow of the Fryingpan River at the Ruedi Dam site was computed Tor a. ~4.yeal' periorl-1911 to 1944. 1n this computation the Rue,li flows were estimated by dl'ainap;e area- reht.ionship and correlation V\ith recorded flows at Thomasville and with records on the Roaring Fork Hi ver Ilt Glen \>000 Springs. Streamflow records also are available for the Fryingpan River at Norrie and on the North Fork of the Fryingpan near Norrie from 1947 to the present time. Norrie, Colo., is sit,uated about 10 miles upstrea.m from the Ruedi Dam site and commands a. drainage area.. of 131 square miles. Riverflows at Ruedi were estimated by correlation with Norrie records for the period 1945 to 1957. Combining the estimates for the overall period-19ll to 1957- annual und"plet,," stream flows at Rucdi averaged 195,900 acre-feet, ranging from a low of 86,700 acre-feet in 1934 to a high of 341,200 acre-feet in1957. Depletion_, Except. for negligible jr~igation use o~ water Ol~ the western slope for wInch data are not avallable, the major depletIOns to the Frying- pan River above Ruedi will result from the existing Busk-Ivunhoe di\'ersions to. the eastern slope and from the poten.tial Fryingpan- Arkansas project diverSIOns. Combmed, these d,verslOns are expected to average 74,100 acre-feet annually for the 1911-57 period of study.