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, <br />, <br />, <br />' <br />� <br />service area is primarily used for cattle ranching and farage crops. Grass and alfalfa hay are <br />used as cattle feed, or :�old as a cash crop. <br />HYDROLOGY AND W,ATER RIGHTS <br />Hydrology The sourc� of hydrology for the Reservoir Company is storage rights on Bull Creek <br />and tributaries to Bull Creek. Bull Creek flows into Plateau Creek, which is tributary to the <br />Colorado River. The reservoirs are located in the headwaters of Bull Creek in Grand Mesa <br />National Forest, at an �levation of 10,000 feet. This area receives an average of 35.9 inches of <br />precipitation each year z , with nearly 20 inches of precipitation being snow 3 . Snowmelt is the <br />primary source of water for filling the reservoirs. <br />, Water Rights The Bull Creek Reservoirs hold the senior storage rights on Bull Creek. Many of <br />the senior direct diver��ion rights on the creek are also owned or/and are used by shareholders <br />' of the Reservoir Comp�any. Senior downstream water rights of significance are irrigation rights <br />on the Colorado River mainstem near Palisade. However, these senior rights seldom need to <br /> l, <br />, <br />' <br />' <br />� <br />' <br />place a call during winter and spring snowmelt month��, during which times the reservoirs can <br />fill. Junior water rights are impacted mostly be senior rights owned by the Grand Valley <br />Irrigation Company, which typically places a call throughout the late irrigation season, long after <br />the reservoir would ha�ve filled. <br />Summary Because ��f the physical location of the reservoirs and the seniority of the water <br />rights, the reservoir fill� even in dry years such as 2002 when total annual precipitation was only <br />23.3 inches. Junior ric�hts are anticipated to fill in wet �nd average years, but may only partially <br />fill in dry years such as 1977 and 2002. Appendix C; includes a summary of hydrology and <br />water rights informati��n. Reservoir capacity and absolute storage rights are summarized in <br />Table 1. <br />2 NRCS, 1970-2000 Average, ftp://ftp.wcc.nres.usda.gov/data/snow/ads/co/co7100pr.html <br />3 NRCS, 1970-2000 Average, ftp://ftp.wcc.nres.usda.gov/data/snow/ads/co/co7100st.html <br />4 Grand Valley Irrigation C;ompany, Grand Valley Canal <br />� Bull Creek Reservoir, Canal and Power Company <br />Bull Creek Reservoir No. 4, Feasibility Study <br />' Nov. 30, 2006 <br />Page 4 of 13 <br />� <br />