Minutes of South Platte River Basin Flood Control Investigation Meeting

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a chronic problem. Channel storage on the South Platte River is needed, but Sand Creek is entirely a.flood control project and should be separated from the overall South Platte. The question also arises as to whether gated or ungated outlets should be used. These items must be considered and the Water Conservation Board will help you solve the problem." MR. GARDNER: "As a thought, suppose. that a suitable project cannot be justified economically; however, at some future date the area may reach such a degree of development that the project could be then justi- fied. Will the local people zone the reservoir sites and levee rights -of -way for a plan of im- provement developed in the studies underway, if proven to be economically infeasible for construc- tion at this time,for possible future construc- tion ?" Mr. Gardner then called attention to the fact that there were problem areas in the South Platte basin other than Sand Creek that the Corps must study. Thus the Corps should not place their entire efforts on the Sand Creek problem to the detriment of other problem areas. The preliminary plans for any proposed project on Sand Creek would be more realistic at the outset if the Colorado Water Con- servation Board would make a positive statement in the near future as to what effect conservation storage would have on downstream water rights, Mr. Gardner said. The spillway for the Cherry Creek Reservoir empties into Tollgate Creek, a tributary of Sand Creek. There is very little chance of this spillway operating under the present operating plan for the project. Provisions were made in the construction of Cherry Creek Dam for ultimately storing conservation water in the reservoir. The Cherry Creek spillway would operate more frequently with the conservation pool full, therefore it is necessary to consider, in the Sand Creek study, the effect of conservation storage in Cherry Creek on Tollgate Creek flows. The Corps would like to have a defin- ite statement in the near future, where there is a possibility of there being water available to utilize the Cherry Creek conservation storage space. Mr. Sparks stated there was River basin which could be storage in and that there was no undecreed water physically could be transported into storage in Cherry Creek. excess water in the South Platte the Cherry Creek Reservoir, on the Western Slope which the South Platte River basin for