BOARD00183

• Board Meeting Date: 3/29/1999
• Description: WSP Section - Colorado River Basin Issues - Endangered Fish Recovery, Instream Flow Water Right Applications - 15-Mile Reach and Yampa - Status Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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Colorado Water Conservation Board
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX, (3031 666-4474

STATE OF COLOMDO

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Bill Owens
Governor

MEMORANDUM

Greg E. Walcher
Executive Director, ON R

Peter H. Evans
Director, eweB

TO: Colorado Water Conservation Board Members

FROM: Randy Seaholm, Interstate Streams Investigations Section ?

DATE: March 24, 1999

SUBJECT: Agenda Item 21k, March 29-30, 1999, Board Meeting --
Colorado River Basin Issues:
Endangered Fish Recovery, Instream Flow Water Right Applications -IS-Mile
Reach and Yampa - Status Report

INTRODUCTION

At the Ianuary 1999 Board Meeting, the Board passed a motion applicable to both reaches to : (I)
withdraw the recovery flow applications; (2) maintain the base flow applications; (3) conduct further
investigations as to the independent utility of the base flow applications and to evaluate whether the
amounts should be modified, particularly in light of the 15-mile reach biological opinion and water
availability, including newly availa6~e water from salinity control projects and reservoir releases on
the Colorado River; (4) look into implications of administration of the base flow rights, especially
on the Yampa; and (5) take additional testimony on the basis for the base flow rights if
recommended by the staff and the Attorney General's Office.

STATUS

(I) Motions to dismiss the recovery flow applications have been filed in both Water Divisions 5 and
6 and the motion to dismiss the recovery flow application approved in Water Division 5.
(2) The base flow applications have been retained and the Attorney General's Office has requested
a meeting with the objectors to the 15-mile reach application on April 2nd to determine what the
remaining objections are and how to proceed.
(3) The preliminary draft of the Programmatic Biological Opinion for the 15-mile reach was release
March 5,1999. An hydrology meeting was held on March 23,1999 and addition modifications
requested to the model runs that will address this issue with respect to the 15-mile reach. Staff
is currently working on those model runs.
(4) Staff has not yet begun this effort and would like to have the revised model runs to help with this
analysis.
(5) Staff has contacted the Colorado Division of Wildlife and Rick Anderson has drafted