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NORTHWEST GOLO~DO Deily Press ';;) Colorado ~ Press , BEST AD ::,.,) . OF YEAR -.1 1991 c.:::> 7NN~~ I 1111 o 1992 Yompa Valley NlIWI Po~lnc. ~-'f~. '1;-~~: ":"'v~f'ii" ':':~::i~:?rif~~1~~''';~:~:::': "T:/:~:}7iff#.'$1.ffi":::':L' ";5: Elkhead enlargement plilps probed By CHUCK HOOK valley is ahesdy being irrigat.ed, so " .. ..'; Staff writer that demand for irrigation water CRAIG - PlllIlll to quadruple the would remain coDStant_ size of Elkhead R.eservoir to ensure The two-year long study eom- future water supplies and provide pared five different dam sites off recreation in northwest Colorado the mainatem of the Yampa River: drew positive comments at a meet- enlarging Elkhead from 13,000 ing Wednesday night here_ acre feet to 52,000 acre feet, enllU'g- While plans show it is possible, . ing Stagecoach from 33,000 acre and would help e,ndangered fish in feet to .52,000 acre feet, a new the Yampa River, objections sur- 70,000 acre foot capacity dam [aced to giving away the all water above Hamilton on the Williams rights held for the long dormantJu- Fork or on the East Fork of niper dams. The objections are ex- Willi-amB Fork, and_ another, new' pected to be thoroughly aired today dam (which would require pump- during a meeting o[ the Colorado ing) on Elk Greek between Hayden River Water Conservation District, and Steamboat Springs. which owns the conditional water Goals of the model were to use . rights to the dams_ the Juniper storage rights to create If Elkhead is not enllU'ged, there enough additional reservoir sthr- would be little shortage of water on age to satisfy all needs through the Yampa until the year 2040, ae- 2040 while;leaVing the rest of the cording to calculations by Chuck water in the.Yainpa to help endan- Brendeeke of Hydrosphere, a con- gered species, said Ray Thnney, a sultant working for the river dis- CRWCD employee heading up the triel_ study_ Those shortages might be Nearly all water needs could he "paper' shortages - the model creat- met in 2040 by enlarging Elkhead ed assumed the valley would have a and Stagecoach. The model set the population of roughly 167,000 pea- recreation pool i.n Elkhead at pie and that a coal-gasification 39,000 acre feet. plant would be operating_ It also as- But the model merely shows that sumed that all irrigible land in the the idea of enlarging Elkhead is ;.;)): '~.:'~: . . . Preupholo",RoyN" r DIac:ussl. ons about the Vampa River diversion are just part 01 the agenda of the Colorado River Water. COIisemilIciil D1s1rtct, In town this week. possible. Political issues like for the legal and construction costs River District's 15-member board whether or not the River District of the project, and whetber it is members must .veigh in deciding . wants to abandon its right to Ju- legally possible to convert the Ju- . whether or not to go any furtber niper dllll1,..what the plan's impact niper conditional storage decrees to with the project, said Thnney, would ba ~ Colorado's ability to an instream flow_ are still up for de- "People are starting to take it as use the wawin the Yampa!t is en- bate_ a given and there are still a lot of titled to by compact, who would pay . Those sre some of the laetprs the pitfalls along the way; he stressed_