BOARD0215

• Board Meeting Date: 5/20/2002
• Description: OWCDP Section - Colorado Drought & Water Supply Assessment
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

COLORADO WATER CONSERVATION BOARD
Department of Natural Resources
Bill Owens, Governor
Greg Walcher, DNRExecutive Director
Rod Kuharich, CWCB Director

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April 2002

South Platte River Basin Drought Impact Fact Sheet
Water Division 1

Use of Storage

Municipal water suppliers have reduced the amount of
their supplies they lease to farmers because of the dry
conditions further reducing supplies available to
farmers. Water users growing row crops that do not
have senior irrigation rights or wells may not have an adequate supply. Some irrigation companies have
advised their users to plant accordingly, forewarning them concerning limits in supply. The use of irrigation
reservoirs may also necessitate the removal of fish from some reservoirs as has happened in the last couple of
years.

Streamflow

Reservoir Storage

Generally, the reservoirs in the basin will not fill from
surface runoff. Reservoir storage will be needed for
irrigation almost immediately unless weather
conditions change with significant rainfall events.
Because of the early draw on irrigation reservoirs and
poor potential that these reservoirs will have a chance
to refill as they do most years during runoff, it is likely
major irrigation reservoirs will be empty by the end of
the season or even before.

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The streamflow is about 500 cfs approximately 50 percent of average at the Kersey gage. The normal
increase in streamflow will not occur due to poor snowpack conditions.

Water Administration

The South Platte River Basin is under an 1871 call above the confluence with the St. Vrain and 1886 water
right call below and all tributaries are administered with water right calls senior to the main stem South
Platte. Potential exists to administer water right calls into 1860's water rights on the South Platte and its
tributaries this water year.

Small water providers in the mountains who are dependent on wells in fractured areas or have small
tributaries as a source of supply may have physical supply limitations.

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For more information about this or other water resource topics, please contact the CWCB at:
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721, Denver, CO 80203
Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone], Internet: www.cwcb.state.co.us