SPDSS_Task83_PrepareInitialWaterBudgets

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SPDSS Memorandum Final To: Ray Alvarado and Ray Bennett From: LRE -Rick Parsons, Duane Herring, and Erin Wilson Subject: SPDSS -Task 83 Prepare Initial Water Budgets Date: April 7, 2005 Introduction This memorandum summarizes the results of Task 83 of the Consumptive Use and Water Budget portion of the South Platte Decision Support System (SPDSS) effort. The objective of this task is as follows: Use StateWB to prepare initial water budgets for the South Platte River and North Platte River basins. Use data developed in Task 82 through the review of published studies for input to the initial water budgets. The initial water budgets will be used as a basis for comparison for other contractors as future efforts related to consumptive use (StateCU), ground water (MODFLOW), and river administration (StateMod) modeling. Prepare a document that compares/contrasts the SPDSS initial water budgets to the previously reviewed studies. The South Platte River basin, North Platte River basin, and Laramie River basin within the North Platte River basin within the state of Colorado comprise the SPDSS study area, as shown in Figure 1. Published reports containing water budget estimates for the North Platte River and South Platte River basins were identified and reviewed in SPDSS Task 82. The initial water budget estimates developed in this Task are compared to the findings summarized in Task 82. The SPDSS water budgets will be updated in subsequent phases as the consumptive use (CU) analyses and ground water models are developed for SPDSS. Background Water budgets are based on the principle of conservation of mass where inflows less outflows equal change in storage: Inflows -Outflows =Change in Storage Where Inflow components include: • Precipitation • Surface Water Inflows Imports Ground Water Inflows Table of Contents Page Introduction 1 Background 1 Approach 3 Results and Comparison 7 Comments and Concerns 10 References 11