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<br />try to minimize impacts on this water. Nebraska appears more willing to accept existing uses, however, <br />they have been concerned that recent legal changes appear to require post 1997 administrative changes <br />even though the uses where pre 1997. <br /> <br />eWe remain very concerned about the ability to use peak flows to provide some flexibility for future water <br />development options, and to enable use to make our future depletions plan work. The USFWS appears to <br />be moving toward a "cap" on the amount of peak flow development. This is very problematic and we will <br />continue to resist a firm cap. <br /> <br />Finally, staff would like to point out that as we resumed the negotiations, Colorado very much wanted an <br />improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. To achieve this goal the negotiating team <br />was reduced in size. At this time the core negotiating team consists of Don Ament, Commissioner of <br />Agriculture; Steve Sims, Attorney General's Office, Alan Berryman and Dave Little for the South Platte <br />water users. <br /> <br />CDSS Update: The South Platte Decision Support System (SPDSS) is moving forward. The contractors <br />are in the process of acquiring various water resource data, from water levels to satellite imagery. The <br />SPDSS team has made significant progress in the data gathering process both in the surface and <br />groundwater with the help of cooperative agreements with the USGS, FSA and Weld County, as well as <br />cooperation from NCWCD, CCWCD, GASP and LSPWCD. All deliverables associated with SPDSS will <br />be on the CDSS website when they become available. <br /> <br />The irrigated acreage update for the western slope has been completed and has been loaded into <br />HydroBase. The refreshed spatial or GIS mapping layers are now available on the CDSS website and <br />available for download. The Gunnison River Basin StateMod updated has been completed as well, with <br />the technical documentation being finalized. <br /> <br />We are currently working with various water user groups in the Rio Grande River Basin on finalizing a <br />escope of work to conduct the irrigated acreage update in that basin. It is anticipated that the water users <br />will not only provide in-kind services, but will also provide funds as well for the completion of this effort. <br /> <br />We are talking with DWR's Division 2, Division Engineer about cooperating on irrigated acreage refresh <br />in the Arkansas River Basin. The intent is to insure that any refresh follow establish guidelines and <br />protocol establish the CDSS effort. It is anticipated that this early planning will translate into cost savings <br />when the DSS moves into the Arkansas River Basin. <br /> <br />Chatfield Reservoir Recreation Mitigation Study: On Aug. 7 we kicked off the Recreation Facilities <br />Mitigation Study for the Chatfield Reservoir Reallocation Study. <br /> <br />We spent the morning touring the reservoir, and the afternoon meeting with the Chatfield Work Group. <br /> <br />The Corps has hired Tetra Tech/Foster Wheeler to be its main contractor following the termination of <br />Simons and Associates. Tetra TechlFW will receive about $670,000 to complete the Reallocation Study <br />sometime in 2005 and will be predominantly focused on environmental impacts and report writing for the <br />eventual EIS that will be needed. Tetra Tech will also start discussions with the USFWS this fall <br />regarding wildlife and fisheries issues associated with the reallocation. <br /> <br />As for the Recreation Mitigation Study, EDA W, of Fort Collins, was selected because of their experience <br />in Recreation Planning and landscape architecture at large federal facilities and reservoirs. State Parks' <br />main goal in this study is to justify a one-to-one replacement of facilities and recreational opportunities <br />that might be inundated if the storage capacity were increased. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />17 <br />