Colorado Water Resources Circular No. 20

• Description: Colorado Water Resources Circular No. 20, Transit Losses and Travel Times for Reservoir Releases, Upper Arkansas River Basin, Colorado
• State: CO
• State: KS
• Basin: Arkansas
• Water Division: 2
• Date: 1/1/1973
• Author: Russell K. Livingston, U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado Division of Water Resources: Office of the State Engineer, Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District
• Title: Colorado Water Resources Circular No. 20, Transit Losses and Travel Times for Reservoir Releases, Upper Arkansas River Basin, Colorado
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

Date of release: 5 -19 -72 Amount of release: 450 ft /s Duration of release: 16 days (384 hours)
Flow at Wellsville gaging station prior to release: 800 ft /s
(Call 539 -6487 for stage, obtain discharge from table 2)
Time of travel (fig. 3): 4 hours
2
Time interval
(hours)
Maximum time
in hours
0 -1
1 -3
3 -11
11 -21
21 -72
72 -312
312+
Totals
EXAMPLE 3
RELEASE FROM Twin Lakes RESERVOIR TO Colorado Canal
1
2
8
10
51
240
TRANSPORTATION LOSSES
Bank storage (fig. 6)
3
Actual time
in interval
(hours)
1
2
8
10
51
240
72
384
4
Average
bank storage
in interval
(ft /s)
500
250
135
90
50
25
10
Charge for bank storage loss is 70 percent of column 5 divided by duration of release:
Inadvertent diversions
Charge for inadvertent diversion losses (fig. 7):
Evaporation
Surface area increase (fig. 8): 185 acres
5
Bank storage
in time interval
(col. 3 x col. 4,
hours x ft /s)
500
500
1,080
900
2,550
6,000
720
12,250
22.3 ft /s
23.0 ft /s
0 �
Charge for change in surface area (fig. 9): 2.8 ft /s
Charge for change in river temperature (fig. 10): 0.5 ft /s
TOTAL TRANSPORTATION LOSS-------------------------------------------------- -------- --- -- -- ---- 48.6 ft 3 /s
TOTAL TRANSPORTATION LOSS (percent of release) ------------------------------------------ - - - - -- 10.8
3Y DIVERSION SCHEDULES
During recession at Colorado Canal
Final divertible discharge from column 9 above--------------------------------------------- - - - - -- 414 ft /s
Release recession began at 2300 hours
Time interval from beginning Average divertible discharge
of recession (hours) (fig. 11, ft /s)
0 -4 258
4 =8 255
8 -12 164
12 -16 93
16 -22 36
22 -32 2
34
Prior` to recession at Colorado Canal
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Average
Channel
Average
Time
Maximum time
Release
bank storage
Inadvertent
Evaporation
storage
Total
divertible
interval
in hours
discharge
(col. 4 above,
diversion
(ft /s)
(fig. 4,
(cols. 4 -7,
discharge
hours)
(ft3 /s)
ft/s)
(f t /s)
ft /s
ft /s)
(ft /s)
0 -1
1
450
500
23.0
3.3
355
881
- --
1-3
2
450
250
23.0
3.3
245
521
- --
3-11
8
450
135
23.0
3.3
112
273
177
11 -21
10
450
90
23.0
3.3
35
151
299
21 -72
51
450
50
23.0
3.3
1
77
373
72 -312
240
450
25
23.0
3.3
- --
51
399
312+
- --
450
10
23.0
3.3
36
414
Release arrived
at 0200
hours
During recession at Colorado Canal
Final divertible discharge from column 9 above--------------------------------------------- - - - - -- 414 ft /s
Release recession began at 2300 hours
Time interval from beginning Average divertible discharge
of recession (hours) (fig. 11, ft /s)
0 -4 258
4 =8 255
8 -12 164
12 -16 93
16 -22 36
22 -32 2
34