Colorado - Missouri Heights Full Application

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Water Supply Reserve Account - Grant Application Form Form Revised October 2006 Application Question B3: Project Overview The Basalt Water Conservancy District (District) was created to help provide a stable water supply to junior water users in the Roaring Fork Valley. The District owns domestic, municipal and agricultural water rights; it also holds reservoir storage contracts with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Persons, or groups, interested in pursuing a stable, legal junior water supply can apply for a contract with the District. The District uses its water rights, and releases from its reservoir contracts, to augment depletions associated with its contractees. The District supplies augmentation water for a number of contracts located on Missouri Heights. Missouri Heights is located on a broad mesa above the Roaring Fork River, near Carbondale, Colorado. Expanding development on Missouri Heights has led to increased groundwater withdrawals and new demand for District water allotment contracts. Augmentation releases for Missouri Heights' well contracts present a unique augmentation situation. The wells deplete the Missouri Heights aquifer, but the augmentation releases do not provide direct, physical recharge to the aquifer. The lack of direct recharge has raised concerns that Missouri Heights contracts will deplete the local aquifer. Missouri Heights ground water is tributary to Cattle Creek, the Roaring Fork River, and ultimately the Colorado River. In order to monitor the effects of well withdrawals on the aquifer, the District implemented Phase I of the Missouri Heights Ground Water Monitoring Program in 1982. Phase I monitored water levels at three wells and four springs in the vicinity of Missouri Heights. A monthly, instantaneous measurement was taken at each of the seven sites. The frequency of data collection provided the basis for a reconnaissance level assessment of fluctuations in ground water levels and their relationship to climatic trends, increased development, and changing land use patterns. An initial review of Phase I data by Resource Engineering, Inc. (RESOURCE) indicated that Missouri Heights ground water levels were not being significantly depleted by increased water demand. Furthermore, the Study found that the aquifer's water level was heavily influenced by climatic patterns (dry, average, and wet years) and transbasin importation of irrigation water. However, the Study also identified several limitations with the data and sampling methodology that prevented drawing more detailed conclusions about Missouri Heights ground water behavior. Specifically, the sampling frequency overlooked short term fluctuations (Le. fluctuations on a daily or weekly basis). The behavior at the spring sites was highly erratic and could only be used as a proxy for ground water levels. Climatic data was calculated using a climate model and regionally available weather station data, not site specific data. Finally, the spatial distribution of the well sites was insufficient to facilitate conclusions about regional aquifer health. This Grant Request is being submitted by the Basalt Water Conservancy District (District) for assistance with Phase II of the Missouri Heights Ground Water Monitoring Program. Phase II of the Ground Water Monitoring Program is intended to address the limitations of Phase I and provide a more detailed understanding of the influences of development on the Missouri Heights aquifer. In order to accomplish this, the District plans to establish 6 monitoring well sites equipped with continuous recording devices. Additionally, the District will install a remote precipitation gage on Missouri Heights. Data will be collected at these sites for a period of five years. At the end of the five year study period the data will be analyzed and summarized in a 12