BOARD01214

• Board Meeting Date: 3/29/1999
• Description: WSP Section - Arkansas River Basin Issues - Trinidad Reservoir Status Report - Pueblo Reservoir 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]
FAJt [phone]

STATE OF COLORADO

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Bill Owens
Governor

MEMORANDUM

Greg E. Walcher
Executive Director, DNR

Peter H. Evans
Director, eweB

TO: Colorado Water Conservation Board Members

FROM: Steve Miller, Interstate Streams Investigations Section

DATE: March 24, 1999

SUBJECT: Agenda Item H.b. and H.c., March 29-30, 1999, Board Meeting _
Arkansas River Basin Issues:
H.b. Trinidad Reservoir Status Report
H.c. Pueblo Reservoir Status Report

INTRODUCTION-

This memo is to briefly advise the Board of issues surrounding the operation of two reservoirs in the
Arkansas River Basin that involve aspects of the Arkansas River Compact and require continued
discussion with the State of Kansas to resolve. Both Trinidad and Pueblo Reservoirs were built in
and began operating in the 1970's, and therefore are junior to the Arkansas River Compact.

TRINIDAD RESERVOIR BACKGROUND

The Trinidad Project, of which Trinidad Reservoir is the main feature, was built by the US Army
Corps of Engineers as a flood control and irrigation project. During project reconnaissance and
design the irrigation component was incorporated and used a portion of the reservoir capacity for
conservation storage to better manage the existing irrigation rights in the area. Storage in the
conservation capacity is primarily accomplished under the transferred 1908 storage rights of the old
Model Reservoir, but the project is also capable of storing under its own junior storage rights when
John Martin Reservoir is full and spilling. The irrigation aspects of the Trinidad Project are
managed by the US Bureau of Reclamation, pursuant to Congressional authorization and an
interagency agreement. The local project sponsor, the Purgatoire River Water Conservancy District
(PRWCD), has a repayment contract with Reclamation for its use of the conservation storage
capacity of Trinidad reservoir.

The project is operated in accordance with Operating Principles developed by the PRWCD and
Reclamation. The Operating Principles were developed, based on modeling studies performed by
Reclamation, to assure that the project would not cause additional depletions to the water available