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Water Supply Reserve Account - Grant and Loan Program <br />Water Activity Summary Sheet <br />Applicant: Colorado Climate Center <br />Water Activity Name: Monitoring the effects of weather conditions on evapotranspiration North Platte <br />River Basin <br />Amount Requested: $ 100,818 total (50% Basin Account) (50% Statewide Acct) <br />Source of Funds: $50,409 (Basin Account) and $50,409 (Statewide Account) <br />Matching Funds: none quantified, will include a volunteer data collection component <br />Water Activity Purpose: Structural and non-structural water activity <br />County: Jackson <br />Drainage Basin: N. Platte Water Source: N. Platte and tributaries <br />Staff Recommendation <br />Staff recommends approval of up to $50,409 from the N. Platte Basin Account and $50,409 from the <br />Statewide Account to help complete the "Monitoring the effects of weather conditions on <br />evapotranspiration North Platte River Basin" project contingent on resolution of the items in the <br />issues/additional needs section. <br />Water Activity Summary: <br />This is a data collection project intended to give the North Platte Basin Roundtable, as well as the CWCB <br />and Colorado's water resource community. a better idea of how- the weather conditions of North Park <br />affect the evapotranspiration (ET) from irrigated hay meadow grasses. Currently there have been several <br />years of data collection in the basin using a Class A evaporation pan in the town of Walden and a <br />hTsimeter at the Reftwe south of town. This project will considerably enhance the initial monitoring effort <br />11 - <br />bv_ establishing a network of complete year-round weather stations to continuously monitor and report <br />weather conditions from three distinctl-,T different locations in the Basin. Using well-documented <br />physically-based techniques, the weather data will be used to compute grass reference ET on a daily and <br />potentially hourly basis. Three "atrnometers" (small low cost instruments that directly measure ET) will <br />also be acquired to provide independent measurements at these same locations. <br />The results will be displayed, compared and posted continuously on a crop water use website managed <br />and maintained by the Colorado Climate Center at CSU. The results will be integrated with the ongoing <br />lysimeter and pan evaporation measurements to give a much more comprehensive assessment of ET in <br />the basin than what is currently available. In addition, seven additional atmometers will be acquired and <br />provided to volunteer cooperators in additional areas of the basin. A climate monitoring website will be <br />developed for cooperators to input their daily or weekly ET readings and then view the results <br />geographically. This effort will yield immediate interesting results by showing how weather conditions, <br />which may be unique in Colorado to the North Platte basin, are affecting daily and seasonal patterns of <br />ET and how this may vai from one part of the basin to another and from one year to another. <br />Threshold and Evaluation Criteria <br />This water activity is developed to support North Platte Roundtable efforts to better document and define <br />consumptive use of irrigation water applied to hay meadows in North Park. Studies of consumptive water <br />uses are eligible for consideration. Water that is used by vegetation is fully consumptive, therefore better <br />knowledge of ET is a critical component of assessing current and future water needs. Historically, there <br />have been few- documented studies of evapotranspiration in the North Platte hay meadow environment. <br />Because of the unique weather conditions experienced in North Park -- strong winds, low humidity, high <br />solar energy - it is uncertain how well data collected on evapotranspiration from other areas of the Rocky