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~ ;, ./ n~?'~'~'~ Springs, the Yampa traverses open country and flows west past the towns of Hayden and Craig, Downstream from Craig the river flows through narrow canyons formed by two isolated mountains, Juniper Mountain and Cross Mountain. The confluence with the Little Snake River, the largest tributary to the Yampa River, is just upstream of Dinosaur National Monument and the Uinta Mountains, Within Dinosaur National Monument the river flows through deeply incised Yampa Canyon to its confluence with the Green River at Echo Park, The 9,500 square-mile drainage area is divided into an arid zone in the west and a high alpine zone in the south and east. Melting snowpack in the higher elevations produces most of the water yield of the Yampa River Basin. Approximately 64 percent of the average annual 1,1 million acre-foot yield of the Yampa River at the Maybell gage occurs in the months of May and June, Summer precipitation augments the water supply in minimal amounts. The arid zone has minor amounts of precipitation, while the high alpine area has an average of 40 inches of precipitation annually, Flows in the Yampa River are characterized by seasonal extremes, ranging from average spring peaks of 14,300 cfs to average later summer base flows of 350 cfs, In dry years flows approach zero cfs in several areas immediately downstream from water diversion dams, 2.1.1 Water Uses Most water development in the Yampa River Basin consists of irrigation diversions constructed beginning in the late 19th century, There are hundreds of ditches scattered throughout the basin that divert water from both the mainstem and tributaries of the Yampa River. Most of the diversions take only a few cubic feet per second (cfs) , but there are several larger ditches that divert more than 10 cfs, Individuals and private ditch companies have developed most of these ditches, Many of the ditches incorporate small reservoirs and stock ponds. There are about 150 reservoirs in the basin with volumes larger than 10 acre-feet (at), The total capacity of all reservoirs in the basin is approximately 125,000 at. Five reservoirs have capacities larger than 7,500 aI, they include: Yamcolo Reservoir, Stagecoach Reservoir, lake Catamount, Steamboat lake, and Elkhead Reservoir. These reservoirs are shown on Figure 1, The Yamcolo and Stagecoach Reservoirs provide water for agricultural and municipal purposes, as well as cooling water lor the Craig and Hayden power generating stations, lake Catamount and Steamboat lake are used for recreation. Elkhead is used for recreation and cooling water for the Craig power station, The largest current water use in the Yampa River Basin is lor irrigation of crops, hay, and pasture, Most of the irrigated lands are located along streams and rivers, which divert and deliver water via irrigation canals and ditches, Water is diverted for irrigation largely between the months of May and October, with the peak demand typically in July, Municipalities and industrial users (primarily thermal-electric plants) are the next largest water consumers, Total consumptive use in the Yampa River Basin is approximately 8 percent 01 the basin yield in wet years and 12 to 18 percent in dry years (Shen et aI., 1985) Draft 07128199 2 Ayres Associates