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, \ ;00 . ~ . . Thr-urer; ~JIfiJ !)('lO C:;. P(,t'~W'1 it I q g- 2 INTERN A nON..u. SYMPOSIUM ON HYDROMETEOROLOGY AMERICA}\; WATER RESOti'R.CES ASSOClATIO:-; \?~-\ N(d~(j(f72q6 rn.t: 1982 APPUCATION OF IFG'S INSTREAM WATER TEMPERATURE MODEL IN THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER Fred D. Theum-. Kenneth A. Voos. and C G. Prewitf ,#diSTRACT: An iDmam wate temperature model has been de- veloped. wrlfiec1. validated. and appliec1 by the lDstream Flo.' and Aquatic Systems Group CIFG). Using readil)' available hydrome- t:oroloPcaI data. the model predictS averue dail,' water teDmCD- ture IDG diuma1 fbactuatiollS within a nream netWOrk. V uious solu- tion tedmiques arc available nngiDg from desktop calculator pro- grams designed for simple applicaucms to a sophisticated computer prOlDJD desipled for complex S)'Slem5. larp data volumes. or reo petiIive app1icatiOllS. 'Ihe application of the model and possible interpretaUODS of iu resultS are discussed in this paper .'ith respect to two ~ fish species in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Complete documemation for the model and solution tecbJliques is available from IFG (Theurc. 1982). (KEY 'l'ERMS: water tem~.81C; stream 110w: modeling: Upper Colorado River.) INTRODUCTION The inmeam WIter tetnperature model is designed for general application. using standard hydrologic and hydraulic data. and a few readily available meteorologicU parameters. MeaD daily (24-hour averqe), minimum Dilhttime. aJl4 maximum daytime water temperatures are l)redicted for ~ time periods represented by the hydrometeorolo{icallJ1l)ut dita. However. only the me:m daily water temperatures for normal (arithmetic mean of historical data) June and July meteorology'are applied md interpreted in this paper. The model was used by the U.s. Fish and Wildlife Ser- vice (FWS) to simulate historical and current temperature regimes and to predict possible future temperature changes in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) (Pre win. et t1i.. J 981). rlgUre 1 shows the UCRB network. The network contaiDs IS U.s. Geological Survey (USGS) stream flow gages. Data from ten of these gages provided initial condi. tions for the physical process portion of the water tempera- ture model. The other five are interior network gages. which were used to validate and calibrate the model. The instream water temperature model has two principal components: a regression model for smoothing data at loca. tions of recorded water temperatures. and a physical process . o model for water temperature predictions elsewhere in the network. A validation check of the mean daily water tem- perature was made on each component, usinghistoric:al hvdrometeorolO2ical data (Theurer and V 005, 1981). In- p~t data were ~arized by months for the years 1964 through 1977, This paper summarizes the comparison of some mean daily water temperature regimes and tempera- ture reauirements for the Colorado squawfish (Prychochei- Ius lucius) and the humpback chub (Giliz c)'pha) in the UCRB. TEMPERATURE REQUIREMa'TS Water temuerature is imponant for f1Sh survival and re- production. Temperature regimes may be primarily respon- sible for the longitudinal distribution of species. production rates, and other population dynamics. It can even affect the ultimate survival of a species. Perhaps the most notable case documenting temperature influences. and the need to predict temperature regimes. is .t,beeffeet of Flaming Gorge and Glen Canyon dams on the uro'fisheries. The Colorado squawfISh and humpback chub, resident native fish species in the Green and Colorado Rivers. are now on the Federal endangered species list pri- marilv because of the chane in the temperature regimes of their' native riVers (Holde~ and Stalnaker. 1975: Mille:-. et aI.. 1981). Both species evolved in the turbid. warm waters of the mainstem Green and Colorado Rivers. Both prefer warm water. and the squawf1Sh has demonstrated a need for water temperatures possibly as warm as :OoC to initiate ~awnjng (Hammond and lnslee. !981:MiIler. et aI.. 1981), Various chub spawning studies have been summariz.ed by Miller, er aI. (1982). They document that a water temperature range between 16-ISoC may be suitable for chub snawninlt. June and July are the UCRB spawning periods ior the c:hub and squawf1Sb. respectively (Miller. eraL, 198:). 1 R.aoectivelv Civi1 Enl:ineer, Soil Conservation $er\ice: Biolo!!iQ! S~'stems E.D,meer. OAO Corpcration: and ."quatic Systems Anai~'S"~ IPA. Ccion'; State 'imvcmn'; C.s. Fish and ~i1cflije Ser\ice, lnstre:lm Fio\\' and Aquatic Systems Group. Drake ~kside B1d~. :. 26~: Red\\':n~ C Road. Ft. CoBins. Colorado 80526.