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<br />lJD27H
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<br />EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
<br />
<br />BACKGROUND
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<br />In February 1992, representatives of the City of Steamboat Springs (City) and Mt. Werner Water
<br />and Sanitation District (Mt. Werner) met with the U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) to discuss the
<br />potential expansion and modernization of the Fish Creek Reservoir. Mt. Werner, having no water
<br />storage capacity is seeking to enlarge the reservoir, in partnership with the City, to create water
<br />storage capacity to meet Mt. Werner's immediate water storage needs. The City would also benefit
<br />by having an upgraded facility and more water storage capacity to meet its long-term water demands.
<br />Both the City and Mt. Werner provide water service to residents of the City of Steamboat Springs.
<br />The Forest Service, recognizing the City as the existing Special Use Permittee for the reservoir,
<br />encouraged the two water providers to submit a joint application for the expansion proposal,
<br />wherein the City would be the main applicant. This would avoid the possibility of the Forest
<br />Service having to administer two separate permits on the same reservoir. Consequently, the City,
<br />in partnership with Mt. Werner, submitted a Special Use Application to the Hahns Peak District
<br />of the Routt National Forest, Steamboat Springs, Colorado in February 1992.
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<br />The City and Mt. Werner are proposing to enlarge the Fish Creek Reservoir by raising the height
<br />of the existing main dam 20 feet, reconstructing and raising the saddle dam, and creating a new
<br />spillway channel. The proposal provides for an increase in storage capacity of 2,280 acre-feet (AF),
<br />from 1,842 to 4,122 AF. Fifty acres of shoreline would be inundated, changing the present size of
<br />the reservoir from 90 acres to 140 acres. Also included in the expansion proposal is the installation
<br />of an early warning monitoring system, and the development of a remote, off-site management
<br />system for the operation of the reservoir. An electrical underground powerline, stemming from an
<br />existing powerline on Buffalo Pass, is being proposed to provide power for the remote operation of
<br />the dam outlet structure and the early warning monitoring system. The construction activities
<br />associated with the proposal would take twO summer construction seasons to complete. The City
<br />and Mt. Werner are referred to collectively hereafter as the "Applicant" and their proposal is referred
<br />to as the "Proposed Action".
<br />
<br />The purpose of and need for the Proposed Action is as follows:
<br />
<br />PurDose: To provide a high quality, cost-effective, and reliable water supply to meet the immediate
<br />water storage needs of Mt. Werner and to meet the long-term municipal water demands of residents
<br />of both the City and Mt. Werner water service areas.
<br />
<br />Need: Mt. Werner's existing water demands exceed its direct flow water rights in Fish Creek.
<br />Consequently, Mt. Werner borrows storage water from the Fish Creek Reservoir to meet its service
<br />area demands. The City presently has sufficient water storage capacity for its service area water
<br />demands, but additional storage is needed to meet projected long-term water needs.
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<br />In 1981, the City began planning for its long-term water needs. These planning efforts identified the
<br />need for 2,000 acre feet (AP) of additional reservoir storage capacity and recommended the Fish
<br />Creek Reservoir expansion as the most cost-effective way of achieving this goal. Also recommended
<br />was the construction of a 5.0 million gallon per day (MGD) water filtration plant on Fish Creek.
<br />Additionally, the development of an infiltration gallery along the Yampa River was identified in the
<br />CitY'S plan as a means of providing peaking capacity and a point of redundancy to the water system.
<br />The infiltration gallery could deliver treated water into the distribution system in the event of failure
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<br />5'Ptember 1993
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<br />Page 5-1
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