BOARD01223

• Board Meeting Date: 1/27/1999
• Description: CF Section - Non-Reimbursable and Investigations - Purgatoire River WCD - Re-Authorization and Amendment of Transit Loss Study - Scope and Purposes
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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STATE OF COLORI\DO

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Colorado Water Conservation Board
Department of Natural Resources
721 Centennial Building
1313 Sherman Street
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]

Bill Owens
Governor

MEMORANDUM

Greg E. Walcher
Executive Director, DNR

TO:

Peter H. Evans
Acting Director, CWCB

FROM:

Colorado Water Cl\~ervation Board Members
S1C~
Steve Miller, CWCB Interstate Streams and Hydrologic Investigations Section

DATE:

January 25,1999

SUBJECT:

Agenda Item 16.g., January 27-28,1999, Board Meeting
Construction Fund - Non-Reimbursable Projects and Investigations
Purgatoire River WCD - Re-authorization and Amendment of Transit Loss Study
Scope and Purposes

INTRODUCTION

In this memo the Board is being asked to seek legislative authorization to expand the purposes of
the previously authorized investigation of travel times and transit losses on the Purgatoire River to
now include conveyance losses and irrigation efficiencies within the Purgatoire River Water
Conservancy District (PRWCD). No additional appropriations would be needed since money
remains available after completion of Phase 1 of the transit losses study, and Phase 2 of that study
is not needed..

BACKGROUND

In 1995 the CWCB was authorized to expend up to $60,000 for an investigation and assessment of
transit times and losses associated with releases of water from the Trinidad Reservoir which provides
supplemental water to the PRWCD. (HB95-1155, Section 5). The USGS, in consultation with the
PRWCD, the State Engineer, and the CWCB developed a two phase plan to conduct the study.
Phase 1 relied on analysis of existing data, while Phase 2, if warranted by the results of Phase 1,
would have involved field work, additional data collection, and more sophisticated modeling ofthe
Purgatoire River hydrologic system. In April 1996 the CWCB and the PRWCD entered into a grant
contract (#CI53 716) whereby the CWCB reimbursed the PR WCD for 50% of its contract costs with
the USGS for Phase 1 of the study. The CWCB paid $24,200 to the PR WCD fulfilling the purposes
of that contract.

In the spring of 1997 USGS released its report entitled An Evaluation of Streamflow Traveltime and
Streamflow Gains and Losses Along the Lower Purgatoire River, Southeastern Colorado, 1984-92"