9606 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

1 t 1 SECTION I. Scope of Work The scope of work for this study is intended to answer a single question: What will the water demands be for the Yampa River Basin over the long term? Because of the nature of water use, this first question requires the answer to a related query: What will be the nature and magnitude of economic and population growth over the long term? It is our understanding that this study will contribute to the recovery program for endangered fishes of the Upper Colorado River Program and one specific element of that program, the Yampa Fish Recovery and Water Management Plan. BBC will be under contract to the Colorado River Water Conservation District but report to a management committee consisting of representatives from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, as well as the River District. Task 1. Review Existing Information This initial task will consist of gathering all of the pertinent, published studies and trend data to develop a current picture of economic, demographic and water use conditions. We will review the first study which is the progenitor of our proposed assignment. Prepared by Hydrosphere in 1993, the Yampa River Basin Alternatives Feasibility Study contains in Chapter 3 the basic structure of the study we will conduct. It should be noted that BBC intends not only to update this study, but also to reexamine its underlying assumptions which drive the growth and water demand projections. Other studies for the Yampa River Basin Region will be reviewed, including: projections of economic activity, specific industry activity, population, housing growth or land use. We will update current estimates of population, employment and other economic and demographic variables which will be used in water estimation and projection. Data sources will include local government sources at the county or municipal level, federal agencies, including the USFS and its most recent forest plan or EIS' for ski areas, such as Catamount. We will contact the State Demographer concerning his recent evaluation of Western Slope economic and demographic trends. Water use data will likely be forthcoming from the USGS or the Division VI engineer, if not available from the River District.