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<br />Section 8 <br />Options for the North Platte Basin <br />'.1111 <br /> <br />donation, bequest, devise, lease, exchange, or other <br />contractual agreement, from or with any person, <br />including any governmental entity, such water, water <br />rights or interests in water in such amount as the Board <br />determines is appropriate for stream flows or natural <br />surface water levels or volumes for natural lakes to <br />preserve or improve the natural environment to a <br />reasonable degree." The CWCB protects these instream <br />flow water rights both by obtaining terms and conditions <br />in water rights decrees filed by other water users and by <br />monitoring stream flows and assisting the State and <br />Division Engineers in administering the prior <br />appropriation system so that the CWCB's instream flow <br />water rights are not injured. <br /> <br />Additionally, the passage of Senate Bill 216 in 2001, <br />which recognizes a new type of water right - RICDs - <br />has provided a legal avenue for establishing recreational <br />options. <br /> <br />The presence of endangered fish in basins across the <br />state, as described in Section 3, influences current <br />stream management in accordance with the ESA. Critical <br />habitat designations have been applied to many reaches <br />in the state with corresponding flow recommendations. <br />While these recommendations are not legally binding, <br />water users are making good faith efforts to meet the <br />recommendations. In this way, the ESA has provided for <br />the establishment of environmental options, albeit non- <br />legally binding options. <br /> <br />In addition, interstate compacts and decrees and senior <br />water rights serve to ensure that river flows are <br />maintained. For example, approximately 75 percent of <br />the water in the Colorado River and its tributaries must <br />flow out of the state pursuant to the compact <br /> <br />CONI <br /> <br />8-12 <br /> <br />8.5.3 Possible Future Statewide <br /> <br />Environmental and Recreational <br /> <br />Options <br /> <br />Statewide environmental and recreational options are <br />those that are not specific to a stream reach or locality, <br />and that could potentially be applicable in more than one <br />part of the state. Possible statewide environmental <br />options discussed in the SWSI Basin Roundtable <br />Technical Meetings include: <br /> <br />. Sizing of new storage projects to include a dedicated <br />"pool" for environmental instream flow management <br /> <br />. Acquiring by purchase or lease existing water rights to <br />maintain higher instream flows <br /> <br />. Voluntary re-operation of existing projects to enhance <br />environmental benefits without impacting yield <br /> <br />. Releasing reservoir water in a pattern that generally <br />follows "natural" flow conditions; e.g., The Nature <br />Conservancy paper (Richter 1997): <br /> <br />- Releasing periodic high flows <br /> <br />- Maintaining average monthly stream flows within <br />:t1 standard deviation of historical average <br />monthly flows <br /> <br />Possible statewide recreational options discussed in the <br />SWSI Basin Roundtable Technical Meetings include: <br /> <br />. New reservoir pool sizing to allow for recreational <br />opportunities <br /> <br />. Developing minimum reservoir pool levels to maintain <br />flatwater recreational appeal <br /> <br />. Voluntary flow management agreements <br /> <br />. Voluntary re-operation of existing projects to enhance <br />recreational benefits without impacting yield <br /> <br />. Establishing new RICDs <br /> <br />S:\1177\Basin Reports\North Platte\SB_North Platte.doc <br />