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N.fuah 2006 RCCD Upper Yampa IZlaer Burin Implementation Plan • 4 2.0 WATERSFIED DESCRIPTION ction is summarized from the 208 The Yampa River Basin watershed descr~ptton presented m this se flan. 2.1 YAMPA RIVER BASIN WATIERSHED 7"he Yampa River watershed is located in northwestern Colorado and is encompassed primarily by Routt and Moffat Counties. The Yampa River flows north from its headwaters in the Flattop Mountains, then flows west through the Cities of Steamboat Springs and Craig to its confluence with the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument. Elevation ranges from approximately 12,350 feet in the Flat Tops to 5,000 feet near the confluence with the Green River. As a result of lar€;e altitude differences, the climate varies from semiarid with as little as eight inches of precipitation annually, mostly as summer rains, to as much as 60 inches of precipitation annually, mostly as winter snowfall (NWCCOG, 1996). \X/intex snow in the mountains serves ass the principal source of streamflow. Steamboat Springs receives nearly one-half of its annual precipitation as snow during December through April, while Craig receives more than one-third of its precipitation as snow during the same period. Steamboat Springs receives only one-fifth of its precipitation during the peak growing season Quly and August), while Craig receives greater than one-thv-d of its total precipitation during the same period. Summer precipitation throughout the watershed occurs as rain showers, which contribute little to overall water availability. These storms seldom yield more than one inch of rain (NWCCOG, 1996). • The streamflow in the Yampa River watershed has marked seasonal variations. Average annual stream flows at the Yampa River above Dliaybell are 1,543 cubic feet per second (cfs), and range from 200 cfs (September through February), to 6,100 cfs in May. IVlan has an effect on streamflow through diversions for irrigation in the summer months and reservoir storage (NWCCOG, 1996). Steamboat Lake, Elkhead Reservoir, Pearl Lake, Fish Creek Reservoir, Lake Catamount, Stagecoach Reservoir, Stillwater Reservoir, and Yamcolo Reservoir are the major impoundments in the basin, having a total storage capacity of approximately 99,300 acre-feet. Fish Creek Reservoir was recently expanded (1994) and currently has a capacity of 4,122 acre feet and a surface area of 140 acres (from 1,842 acre feet and 90 surface acres). Stagecoach Reservoir construction was completed 1988, and has a capacity of 33,275 acre feet and a surface area of 720 acres. Lake Catamount is a 495 surface acre man-made reservoir with a storage capacity of 7,830 acre feet, which maintains a constant surface level (NWCCOG, 1996). The Yampa River is a free flowing river for approximately 126 miles, from the Catamount Dam to the confluence with the Green River. ~~'ater Division 6 of the Colorado Division of ~~/ater Resources (CD~~/R) administers river flows in t:he Yampa, White, and North Platte River Basins. This area encompasses approximately 11,000 square miles in the northwest corner of the State. Most annual streamflow is from snowmelt runoff during spring and early summer and irrigation diversions affect streamflow during the summer €;rowing season. Nearly 8,000 individual decreed water rights are administered by the Division, distributing some 902,000 acre-feet of waiter for irrigation. The predominant crops are grass hay and alfalfa hay used for the maintenance of large herds of cattle and sheep (N\~'CCOG, 1996). 2.2 LAND USES AND POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS • "Chic project will only address that portion of the Yampa River watershed located within Routt County. Approximately 49% of the land in Routt County is publicly owned and is managed by the KCCD * 1 ~f7~ Pure Grrire Kaad .S'ui/r 201.1 * SteaurGoa[ 5prirr3~; CO 8087 * (9i0J 879-3221