SPDSS_NewsletterIssue2_1-05 - Laserfiche WebLink

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o~or-au~o ~ater ~ onse,rvat;ior~ oars, (~,o~orac~o ~ivisiorr o{~ ~,/~/ater ~esources SPDSS is Making Engineer's Lives Easier SPDSS (South Platte Decision Support System) products have been available to consultants, agencies, and the public since 2001, and according to people that use SPDSS, it is making a big difference in how they do business. "We used to have to go down to the State Engineers Office and make copies from Microfiche, which took hours and cost a bundle," recounts Leo Eisel of Brown and Caldwell. He should know, Leo has been in the water rights business in Colorado for over 23 years. With access to the State's water resources database, HydroBase, and other Colorado Decision Support System (CDSS) tools through the CDSS website, now all it takes is a click of the mouse SPDSS and other CDSS tools are being used by State employees and consultants for many water resources projects, including the Coordinated Facilities Operations Study (CFOPS) in the Colorado River Basin, and the Statewide Water Supply Initiative (SWSI). Users see many benefits to using CDSS products like SPDSS and the CWCB hopes that others will find the data and information useful in the future, as more and more information will become available on the CDSS website. When asked about the benefits of using SPDSS, users had a variety of answers within the same vein: the main benefit being that water resources data (i.e., calls, water rights, diversions, wells, irrigated acreage, GIS layers, etc.) are now at the user's fingertips. This means no more going to the State Engineer or calling ditch companies or water commissioners to find the information. Interface with Hydrobase mdsay Griffith with Brown and Caldwell says Lthat she uses data from HydroBase on a daily basis as she models consumptive use and stream depletions for change cases and augmentation plans. In addition, the South Platte Basin Surface Water User-Friendly SPDSS Features: ^ Models and tools developed for the SPDSS can provide informa- tion on "what-if" scenarios and how changes (e.g., adding a call) can impact the entire water system. The DSS models "give you the big picture" attests Michelle Garrison of the CWCB, a frequent user of CDSS data and products. ^ Forthcoming SPDSS tools will provide greater detail for more accurate modeling. "When complete, the SPDSS surface water model will be a daily model" Ms. Garrison reported, which im- proves on the ability to make management decisions on a daily basis, which is important in the South Platte River Basin. ^ Data available through SPDSS are already being used in Water Court. Erin Wilson, a water resources engineer at Leonard Rice, has been working on the consumptive use portion of the SPDSS project. According to Ms. Wilson, the irrigated acreage data and information developed during the project are already being used in water rights change cases, substitute water supply plans, and augmentation plans throughout the South Platte River Basin. ^ The SWSI project has used preliminary irrigated acreage cover- age data available from the SPDSS. "Since SPDSS is still in development, we were not able to use products and information from the South Platte like we were able to in other basins with complete DSSs," explained Kelly DiNatale of CDM. "As a result, we could not be as thorough with the South Platte River Basin." The finished DSSs provided information for the SWSI project to determine irrigation water requirements, consumptive use, areas of agricultural water shortages, naturalized flow, physical flow, and legally available flow.