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<br />, HOLLAND &HART <br /> <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br />May 25, 1982 <br />Page 2 <br /> <br />Engineer's Statement of Claim filed in the 1890's asserted a <br />capacity of 30 million cubic feet of water--688 acre feet. <br /> <br />The dam is a earth filled rock structure approximately 45 <br />feet in height with a crest width of 10 feet, a crest length of <br />285 feet and a 12 foot wide spillway. In the 1960's the Forest <br />Service became concerned about seepage from the dam and storage <br />was reduced by lowering the spillway. Apparently, the use of <br />the Boss Lake by the State or the County went into abeyance <br />with the reduction in storage, although waters in excess of 108 <br />acre feet have been stored over the past two decades. A 1981 <br />dam inspection report by the Division of Water Resources <br />indicated a generally good condition with some seepage and <br />leaking. <br /> <br />In 1979, the successors to the local water user in the <br />1965 case sought a conditional water right for several hundred <br />acre feet in an enlarged Boss Lake. That Application was <br />dismissed by the Water Court but Applicant has appealed to the <br />Colorado Supreme Court. The State of Colorado, the Upper <br />Arkansas District and the Southeastern District have all <br />appeared in the Supreme Court to uphold their interests and to <br />urge the dismissal be upheld. <br /> <br />The transfer of Boss Lake from county control to the Upper <br />Arkansas District has recently been completed. <br /> <br />II. Proposal <br /> <br />A. Engineering Feasibility. <br /> <br />The District seeks funds from the Board for a study of the <br />feasibility and cost of repairing the dam structure, if <br />necessary, and repairing the spillway. The District wants to <br />assess the feasibility of returning Boss Lake to its original <br />capacity in order to implement the purpose of the state <br />reservoir statute and in order to carry out its own statutory <br />duty of assisting water users in the area. This feasibility <br />study would consist of engineering investigation, field inspec- <br />tion and tests, analysis of data and preparation of a report. <br /> <br />B. Water Rights, Water Allocation and Legal <br />Considerations. <br /> <br />As part of this feasibility study, the District proposes <br />to study the hydrology of the area's watershed, the potential <br />benefit to area water users and various legal questions which <br />