ISFAPPC02212 ‎(2)‎

• Case Number: 00CW0107
• Stream Name: Oil Creek
• Watershed: Fourmile Creek
• Water Division: 2
• Water District: 12
• County: Teller
• Instream Flow App - Doc Type: Supplemental Data

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Stream: Oil Creek

Se~ment: Headwaters to Fourmile Creek

Executive Summary

Upper Terminus: Headwaters at (Latitude: 380 50' 17") (Longitude: 105005' 59")
Lower Terminus: Fourmile Creek at (Latitude 380 50' 22") (Longitude 1050 10' 29")
Counties: Teller
Length: 5.5 Miles
USGS Quad(s): Pikes Peak and Cripple Creek North
Flow Recommendation: 1.80 cfs (May 15'h - June 30th)
0.75 cfs (July 1st - October 14'h)
0.30 cfs (October 15th - April 14th)
'0,75 cfs (Aprill5'h - May 14th)

Summary

The information contained in this report and the associated instream flow file folder for Oil
Creek forms the basis for staff s instream flow recommendation to be considered by the Board.
It is staffs opinion that the information contained is this report is sufficient to support the
findings required in Rule 5.40,

Colorado's Instream Flow Program was created in 1973 when the Colorado State Legislature
recognized "the need to correlate the activities of mankind with some reasonable preservation of
the natural environment" (see ~ 37-92-102 (3) c.R.S.). The statue vests the CWCB with the
exclusive to appropriate and acquire instream flow and natural lake-level water rights. In order
to encourage other entities to participate in Colorado's Instream Flow Program, the statue directs
the CWCB to request instream flow recommendations from other state and federal agencies. The
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recommended this segment of Oil Creek to the CWCB for
inclusion into the Instream Flow Program, Oil Creek is being considered for inclusion into the
Instream Flow Program because it has a natural environment that can be preserved to a
reasonable degree with an instream flow water right. This recommendation is important to the
BLM management objectives because the agency does not want to reverse the significant
improvements in stream condition that have been achieved and functional fisheries in this
historic mining area are scarce.

Oil Creek is a tributary of Fourmile Creek a tributary of the Arkansas River. It is approximately
7.5 miles long. It begins on the northwest side of Pikes Peak in Pike National Forest, at an
elevation of approximately 12,180 feet, and terminates at the confluence with Fourmile Creek
near Midland, at an elevation of approximately 8,900 feet. It flows through federal lands (Pike
National Forest and Bureau of Land Management lands), state lands (Mueller State Park) as well
as private lands. It also begins and ends in Teller County. The total drainage area of Oil Creek
is approximately 14 square miles, Oil Creek generally flows in an east to west direction.

The subject of this report is a 7.5 mile segment of Oil Creek beginning at headwaters and
extending downstream to the confluence with Fourmile Creek (See Figure 1). This segment is
located north of the City of Cripple Creek. To date, staff has received and considered only one
instream flow recommendation for this segment of Oil Creek. That recommendation is discussed
in detail below,