Gunnison May 9 Needs Assessment Letter

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protection of existing water supplies is one of the most important challenges facing the basin. In particular, many facilities have been identified as potentially needing renovation. This in.eludes, but is not limited to, the following reservoirs: Grand Mesa Reservoirs, Overland, Gould, Crawford, Beaver, McDonough No~ 1 and 2, Needle Creek, V ouga, Spring Creek, Lake San Cristobal. This task will result in an inventory of reservoirs that need renovation or are under storage restrictions due to dam safety concerns, the associated costs, and priority for renovation. Project Scoping for Task 16: Basinwide with Statewide Implications - Impact analysis of energy development upon water quantity needs an.d quality. Project scoping would begin in December, 2007~ Background: In addition to strong population growth and related pressures upon water supplies, the GBR T is very con.cerned regarding potential impacts of energy development and the related extraction industry (coal bed methane drilling, oil and gas drilling, and coal mining) upon basin water needs and water q.uality. This task should quantify future water demands based upon projected industry growth~ In addition, this task should investigate the potential impacts of projected growth upon water quality (e.g. developed water disposal, increased sedimentation, salt loading, etc~)c Although it is recognized that the Gunnison Basin energy development pressures are basin specific and differ from other west slope basins facing energy development (e.g., Colorado River and White River), the GBRT wou.ld like to coordinate with. existing efforts and utilize common methodologies in this task. It is likely that additional requests for technical assistance will be made by the Gunnison Basin Roundtable during the upcomin.g year, as more information becomes available as to work required to complete the Gunnison Basin's Needs Assessment POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL TASKS Project Scoping for Task 5: Basinwide - Review and refine the analysis of existing physically and legally available water supplies in the Gunnison Basin prepared by SWSI~ _Project scoping would begin as early as July, 2007 ~ Background.. In several instances, the estimates of legal water availability presented in th.e SWSI report appear high, and may overstate the potential for development of additional water supplies in the Gunnison Basin~ It is believed that several key modeling assumptions, the nodal resolution and the period of record that were employed in the SWSI study resulted in some erroneous conclusions. For example, the estimate that 55,000 acre-feet of water is legally available on Tomichi Creek should be reviewed for accuracy. In addition, the assumptions as to the water requirements of downstream water rights (including those of the Aspinall Unit, in particular) used in preparing the SWSI estimate need to be checked in detail and verified~ It is important that this analysis be performed using historical records related to minimum supply conditions as appropriate (e.gc, during the drought of 2002 - 2004). 5-9-07 A-3