BOARD01101

• Board Meeting Date: 7/23/2001
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Town of Otis Floodplain Study: Mr. Robert Standley; a property owner in the Town of Otis (in
northeastern Colorado), has expressed concerns about an ongoing floodplain-mapping project in Otis.
He owns property in the 100-year floodplain and is concerned about the validity of the current study, _
Larry Lang and Brian Hyde study, met with the Standleys on July 5. They provided the Standleys with ..
engineering information and explained the technical b~sis ofthe study, In addition, they listened to the
Standley's concerns about the validity of the study, chi!efly concerns about the flood hydrology,

The fundamental flooding problem in the southern pari of Otis is that there is a significant railroad
embankment that divides the town in two geographic ~reas. The culverts through the railroad
embankment are undersized for the 100-year flow, so they cause a major backwater problem in the
southern part of town. In the summer of 1993, the most recent of numerous floods in that area of Otis
created a lake that inundated many yards and streets and caused flood damage in several houses. After
Larry Lang and Brian Hyde met with the Standleys, they met with the mayor of Otis and the town clerk
to review documentation of historic floods in Otis, including a videotape of the 1993 flood. They also
conducted a field review of the watershed upstream o~ Otis and found that some of the Standleys'
concerns had merit. '

Larry and Brian have already begun making adjustments to the flood hydrology in Otis, They will
resolve the Standley's complaints during July and August.

Rio Grande Basin Issues

RGDSS Status Report: There will be an RGDSS Advisory Meeting at 2:00 p.m. on August 2 in Monte
Vista at the Monte Vista Coop (1901 East US Highw~y 160), The issues to be discussed include: ground
water data collection; steady state ground water mode~ results; a water budget model; average monthly
ground water model results; monthly surface water model results; Colorado's Water Rights
Administration Tool (CWRAT); and the July 2001 database release containing data through year 2000, _

If you want a free copy of the July 2001 database release and viewing software for Division 3 on CD, 0"
have questions regarding the meeting, please contact Andy Moore at the CWCB (303-866-3441;
[e-mail]) or the project manager, Ray Bennett, at the DWR (303-866-3585 x 263;
[e-mail]), '

New Mexico Water Agreement: On June 29 the Interior Department signed an agreement with New
Mexico and the Corps of Engineers to provide water pows for the endangered Rio Grande silvery
minnow, The agreement will provide water over the :next three years for the endangered fish. The water,
30,000-acre feet per water year, will consist of Rio Grande water that would have flowed downstream
for storage at Elephant Butte Reservoir and contribut~d to New Mexico's compact deliveries to Texas.
The water will be stored upstream at Corps of Engineers reservoirs and released in coordination with the
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Corps, Reclam~tion, and New Mexico executed a memorandum of
understanding to store the water that was approved b~ the Rio Grande Compact Commission in April.
New Mexico is paying $41 per acre-foot to alter the timing ofthe releases for conservation purposes.

Summltville Mine Plan: On June 8 a proposed plan! for the final remedial action at the Summitville
Mine Superfund Site was issued by the Department Of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE) and
the EP A. The preferred alternative includes the construction of a water treatment plant and a reservoir to
collect and treat acid mine drainage, The treatment plant will be operated approximately six months per
year. The effectiveness of the remedy will be monit~red by sampling surface water and sediments
downstream of the mine. The estimated cost ofimpl~menting the preferred alternative is $75 million,
bringing total site-wide costs to approximately $2351 million. A 30-day public comment period on the
plan ended on July 11. .

Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project nears Completion: On May 31 the consultant team
presented its final Technical Memorandum to the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). That memo

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