BOARD00819

• Board Meeting Date: 11/23/1998
• Description: ISF Section - New Appropriations - Notice to Appropriate Instream Flow Water Rights in Water Division 2 - Fourmile and Tennessee Creeks
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Fourmile Creek from the confluence with the Arkansas River to the three new points of diversion
and a 30 cfs exchange to Wrights Reservoir (a.k.a. Pisgah Reservoir). CCVGM did not specify
any appropriation date for this exchange. CWCB and AGO staff have reviewed the CCVGM's
settlement proposal and have the following comments:
1) CCVGM's three conditional water rights are junior to the Board's four Fourmile Creek instream
flow recommendations.
2) CCVGM's proposed exchanges would be junior to the Board's Fourmile instream flow
recommendations. It is staff's opinion that ESF could only run their exchanges when the Board's
Fourmile Creek ISF recommendations were satisfied.

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. City of Cripple Creek (CCC) - Staff met with representatives from the CCC to try and resolve
any issues both parties may have. To date CCC has not provided the staffwith any proposed
settlement.

. The Pisgah Reservoir and Ditch Company and Catlin Canal Company (pRDC) - PRDC has
contacted the CWCB (see attached letter) with concerns regarding the effects of the proposed
instream flow recommendations on existing water rights. The PRDC also requests that satellite
monitored measuring stations be installed and maintained at the expense of the State to measure
the flow in the proposed reaches.

. Fourmile Creek Water Users (FCWU) - Staff met with several FCWU on November 9, 1998,
for a field inspection and to provide information regarding the Board's proposed instream flow
recommendations and address local water user concerns. At this meeting staffheard a wide range
of concerns regarding the possible effect of the proposed ISF recommendations on existing water .
rights. It was the general consensus that people were not opposed to having water in the stream
but they were opposed to anything that may prevent them from moving/selling their water rights
to upstream points. Staff is expecting written comments from the FCWU prior to the Board
meeting.

Tennessee Creek
Prior to the Board taking final action on this recommendation, pursuant to rule 12, the staff sought
and received comments and concerns from the Pueblo Board of Water Works and the Eagle Sky
Foundation, Inc.

The following facts are based on the best available data to date:

. The DOW documented that a natural environment is present in the form of a brook,
brown, rainbow and cutthroat trout fishery.

. Based on the DOW's biological recommendation, flows of 19 cfs, summer, and 9 cfs,
winter, are necessary to preserve the natural environment to a reasonable degree.
However, the winter instrearn flow recommendation was reduced to 7 cfs (12/1-5/14)
based on the water availability analysis. The DOW believes the lower flow
recommendation will still preserve the natural environment.

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