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SMALL DAM SITE RECONNAISSANCE STUDY <br />COLORADO WATER CONSERVATION BOARD <br />CHAPTER I <br />INTRODUCTION <br />This report describes the results of the "Small Dam Site <br />Reconnaissance Study" (Study) performed by Harris Water <br />Engineering, Inc. (HWE), for the Colorado Water Conservation Board <br />(CWCB). The work began on September 1, 1993 and was completed on <br />February 15, 1993. <br />The broad philosophy of the Study is that Colorado is lagging <br />behind downstream states in the utilization of allocated water <br />supplies, which is especially true in the Colorado River basin. <br />Given the difficulty of constructing large dams in today's social <br />and environmental climate, the philosophy of constructing small <br />dams is to minimize potential social and environmental problems <br />while increasing the utilization of Colorado's water supplies, a <br />little at a time. A baseball analogy would be to "hit a lot of <br />singles to score runs rather than waiting for a home run". <br />The purpose of the Study is to identify and evaluate, at a <br />reconnaissance level, dam sites where there is a real need for raw <br />water storage. The sites may include the construction of a new <br />dam, reconstruction of a dam that is currently breached, or <br />enlargement of an existing dam. The Study includes recommendations <br />on how to develop those sites which appear to have repayment <br />capability. The CWCB will work with the respective sponsoring <br />entities to attempt to develop a loan financing package, through <br />the CWCB Construction Fund. <br />A related purpose of the Study is to assist smaller water entities, <br />who do not have adequate staff,, to perform the initial technical <br />and cost evaluations to determine if their dam site is feasible. <br />The smaller water entities typically have a system operator who <br />have ideas on how to increase the water supply through storage, but <br />do not have the resources nor time to make the necessary <br />evaluations. Most of the sites included in the Study involve small <br />irrigation companies, small water conservancy districts, or small <br />towns. <br />The Study included five distinct tasks, which are listed below. <br />1. Canvas Water Users to Identify Potential Sites <br />2. Site Inspection of Most Sites <br />3. Prepare Reconnaissance Level Design Reports and <br />Recommendations for Each Site <br />4. Design Reports and Recommendation Review <br />5. Finalize Designs Reports and Recommendations <br />Small Dam Site Recon. Study 1 <br />