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1 <br /> <br />t <br /> <br />Summary results of CDM's habitat/depth evaluation are provided in Tables 3.14 through 3.19. <br />Attachment G provides the detailed monthly results of the habitat depth evaluation. The summary <br />tables provide average habitat depths over the 19-year simulation- period and habitat depths for <br />representative low runoff (1977) and high runoff (1984) yeazs, under both current and future <br />conditions for winter and summer months. Also shown are the percentages of time that habitat <br />depths would have been greater than or equal to the preferred depth ranges identified by the USFWS. <br />For all of the transects, the summary tables show that reductions in habitat depth for all habitat types <br />due to future diversions by the District would have been relatively small, ranging from 0 to 1 inch, <br />on average, during both the summer and winter seasons. <br />A In terms of meeting the preferred depth criteria, Table 3.14 shows that backwater habitats would <br />have virtually never met the criteria under both can ent and future conditions. However, Table 3.15 <br />shows that at this same transect following spring floods (when the USFWS repeated its measure- <br />I~ ments), the criteria would have been met more frequently during the summer and always during the <br />winter, even after Ute's future diversions aze accounted for. The potential availability of backwater <br />habitats may be more dependent on the frequency of flushing due to spring flooding than the effect <br />of future diversions by entities such as the District. For eddies, pools, fast runs, and slow runs <br />(Tables 3.16, 3.17, 3.18, and 3.19, respectively), suitable depth would have been typically available <br />under both current and future conditions at least 50 percent of the time during the summer months <br />and nearly always during the winter months. <br />The results of this analysis indicate that river flow effects on endangered fish species habitats are <br />generally only significant during the summer months (August through October), with most effects <br />associated with backwater habitats. <br />3.3.6.2 Habitat Areas <br />Another component of the USFWS (1995) study was the identification of habitat area within the four <br />study sites of the 15-mile reach. The USFWS identified a total habitat area ranging from 211,993 <br />square meters (52.4 acres) to 405,406 square meters (100.2 acres), depending on the streamflow level <br />in the Colorado River at the time of the measurement. It should be remembered that these habitat <br />areas are not the total available over the 15-mile reach, but only represent the habitat areas within <br />the four USFWS study sites. These areas were further broken down by habitat type in the USFWS <br />report, with values provided at 13 flow rates measured during the course of the study. <br />During both the summer and winter months, the habitat areas (based on USFWS data) that would <br />have been available under future District diversions were computed for the flow rates defined in this <br />appendix. Table 3.20 presents the results of this evaluation. During the summer months, average <br />flow rates at the top of the 15-mile reach would have been expected to decrease from 814 cfs to 795 <br />cfs (19 cfs reduction) due to District diversions. Winter flows would have been expected to decrease <br />from an average of 1712 cfs to 1688 cfs (24 cfs reduction). <br />Using the flow/area values measured by the USFWS and provided in Table VIII of their report, <br />available areas of each habitat type were computed for these average flow rates by interpolating <br />CDM Camp Dresser & McKee <br />o:~aoa~-i io~nocwPr~n-s.noc B-20 <br />