Yampa River Basin Water Resources Planning Model Final Report

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TABLE 4.5.7B Steamboat Lake Reservoir Storage Rights Structure ID Reservoir Admin # Amount acre -feet Fill 583787 Steamboat Lake 41727.40833 5,000 1 583787 Steamboat Lake 41727.40833 18,064 1 583787 Steamboat Lake 51134.43234 3,300 1 iwie: An the storage ngnts for steamboat Lake till both accounts. Although the first two rights have the same administration number, they are separate decrees. TABLE 4.5.7C Steamboat Lake Reservoir Operating Rights System Admin # Type Description OPR STEAMBT TO HAYDENST 51134.43235 1 2 1 Release to direct diversion Operating right 1 releases water in account 1 (HaydenSt) at times when the direct flow rights decreed for operating the Hayden Station (570512) are insufficient to satisfy the demands at the power plant. The administration number for this operating right is junior to both the direct flow right at the direct diversion and the storage right at the reservoir. The amount of water released to the direct diversion is restricted by the amount currently available in the account. CPOR's interest in the Steamboat Lake water rights is that they be used solely for recreational and conservation pool purposes at the reservoir itself. The second account represents CPOR's 21,364 acre -feet of storage in the reservoir, which includes 125 acre -feet leased by Cyprus Empire. Given the small size of the Cyprus Empire storage water, it was not included in the model. The reservoir is modeled to keep CPOR's account full. 4.5.8 Elkhead Reservoir Elkhead Creek Reservoir (WDID 443902) is located on Elkhead Creek, a tributary of the Yampa River, just upstream of the city of Craig. The reservoir was originally constructed by the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) and the Yampa Project Participants (the operating consortium for the Craig Station power plant) and was intended for recreational and industrial purposes. The Yampa Participants funded a portion of the construction in return for full use of the active storage capacity in the reservoir higher than 6,340.5 feet (amsl), which was estimated to be approximately 8,310 acre - feet. CDOW retained the use of the storage capacity below this elevation, including the dead storage below the outlet works. In 1990, the city of Craig acquired all of CDOW's interests in the reservoir, subject to a contractual commitment to not encroach upon the dead storage below the elevation of the outlet work invert, which is reserved as a conservation pool for the benefit of CDOW. In 1991, the reservoir was emptied to the approximate dead storage level to perform maintenance on the outlet works and at the same time, to survey the capacity of the reservoir. From this new survey data, the city has estimated that the active capacity above the outlet works invert is about 10,422 acre -feet. Of this storage, the Yampa Participants' entitlement is estimated to be about 8,754 acre -feet and the city's entitlement about 1,668 acre -feet. Assuming that the original capacity of the total reservoir, as decreed, is 13,699 acre -feet, this results in a dead storage capacity of about 3,277 acre -feet. The 1990 agreement served to formalize the reservoir operations, which did not change. The reservoir operations at Elkhead Reservoir are consistent throughout the entire study period. I Operating Criteria File 4 -30