WSP10075

• File Number: 8220.131.J
• Description: Yellow Jacket Project
• State: CO
• Basin: Yampa/White
• Water Division: 6
• Date: 5/15/1960
• Title: Preliminary Report: Sweetwater Hydroelectric Project
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

water right. These filings are for municipal water for potential
oil cities and the owners would be unlikely to spend money to support
them before a market exists.

Sweetwater Creek Basin: There is one valid final decree for ap-
propriation of water from Turret Creek and several for appropria-
tions of water from Sweetwater Creek below Sweetwater Lake. All
of these have been evaluated in the hydrology studies since water
must be released for them in accordance with law.

Deep Creek: There are numerous filings on this stream, none of
which has been developed. These must be evaluated to determine
the exact amount of water available.

Patterson Creek: There is one conditional decree for 29.4 second
feet and one filing for 7 second feet on this strealn. No features
for putting "the water to use have been constructed. The validity
of these claims must be evaluated, and the amount of water avail-
able to the project determined.

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HYDROLOGY

Van Sickle Associates, Inc.. studied existing hydrology data for
the area involved to determine the water available for each power-
plant and to estimate the size of various project features. Addi-
tional stream gaging stations are to be installed to record more
accurate water measurements for project operation.

Water-supply studies reported herein were based on actual stream
flow lneasurements. on correlations based on drainage areas. and
other available pertinent basic data.

The available water supply and the power-market pattern must be
evaluated in relation to construction and operation costs to deter-
mine the economic capacity and size of project features . A power-
market pattern consistent with present regional power usage was
assumed for this report. The methods used, calculations made,
and results obtained in this prelhninary hydrology study are re-
ported below.

Water Supply

The Sweetwater Project water supply will be derived from 136
square miles of drainage area situated in the heart of the White
River Plateau. Fortunately, two gaging stations have been in
operation in the project vicinity long enough to be most useful to
the water supply study. One. the South Fork gaging station, sup-
plied flow records covering 5 years; the other. on the main stem
of the White River. covering 40 years. By correlation between
stations. the annual flows for the South Fork station were computed
for 40 years.

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