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. SWSP and Plan for Augmentation, the Applicant assumes that stream depletions will begin to accrue at the time pumping begins (December 2005). Due to lagged depletions, the calculated annual stream depletions are divided by twelve to determine monthly replacement requirements. Thus, an annual diversion of 35 AF would result in a stream depletion of 2.9 AF per month (35 AF + 12 months = 2,9 AF/month). This represents a continuous flow of 22 gallons per minute (0,048 cfs). 4.0 ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED The Applicant attempted to develop a Water Right Plan for Augmentation that would replace all depletions attributed to Echo Mountain at a location above the CWCB in streamflow rights, The alternatives included constructing a large (30 - 100 AF) reservoir on-site and/or acquiring senior water rights in the basin. Both alternatives proved infeasible in the near term, The only senior water rights in the area are owned by the City of Idaho Springs and the City is not interested in selling any portion of its rights to the Applicant. Similarly, reservoir construction will not be implemented in the near future, Reservoir construction is difficult in this area due to the steep . topography and remote nature of the Warren Gulch watershed and will require extensive planning, Nevertheless, the Applicant is continuing to examine constructing a large reservoir in this area; however, such an endeavor would cost millions of dollars and take several years to fully study and design. The Applicant has constructed smaller on-site ponds in an effort to reduce its impact on the CWCB water rights. The smaller ponds store during the height of the runoff when the CWCB rights are satisfied and are used for snowmaking purposes during low flow periods. 4.1 INJURY WITH MITIGATION Due to the inability to fully augment its depletions above the CWCB water rights as described above, it is possible that some or all of the calculated 22 gallons per minute (gpm) of stream depletions could occur at a time when the minimum flows are not fully satisfied, Accordingly, the Applicant has developed a Mitigation Plan that will enable the CWCB to continue to preserve or improve the natural environment of Little Bear Creek and Soda Creek even with the potential depletions attributed to the Echo Mountain development. . Under the proposed Mitigation Plan, Echo Mountain will provide $3,000 annually for a period of 25 years for the continuing improvement of the fishery resource within Little Bear Creek and Soda Creek. Initially, the money will be used to stock the two creeks with desirable fish species as 5