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. which are not always in areas affected by the minerals and mining industries. In addition, the CWCB needs to develop its own gaging program to address program specific missions. In November 1999, the DWR requested $235,000 from the Construction Fund for the FY 00-01 Satellite Monitoring System. This request was for the seventh year of a ten-year program to replace 150 Data Collection Platforms (DCPs). Each year since 1993, the construction fund paid for 15 sets of electronic'equipment and provided $35,000 for gaging station refurbishment, at a total cost of $120,000. The requested increase in 1999 resulted from an expanded system that now encompasses approximately 300 DCPs at various locations throughout the state, including 60 gages located on irrigation ditches. In addition, new technology, which will ttltimately increase reliability and real time data transmission rates, requires the DWR to upgrade its older outdated DCPs over the next 10 years. Eventually, these older DCPs will not meet the requirements imposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which operates the satellite used by the DWR. At its November 1999 Board Meeting, the CWCB did not approve a $235,000 funding request by DWR and instead requested the General Assembly to authorize $120,000 to be appropriated for the Satellite Monitoring System from the General Fttnd. This was the same funding amount that had been approved in the previous seven years. The Board and CWCB staff were reluctant to approve the requested increase until alternatives to providing for the increased costs could be further researched. It was also suggested that this important program be funded through a legislative appropriation from the Long Bill. In June 2000, the DWR prepared a decision item with support from the CWCB to fund the DWR Satellite Monitoring System refurbishment program using General Funds. Unfortunately, the Department of Natural Resources was unable to give the proposed decision item a high priority and instructed the CWCB and DWR to work cooperatively and seek funding for the improvements through the annttal Projects Bill. e Discussion The CWCB's proposed Gaging Program is currently under development. It is a collaborative effort between the Board's Flood Protection section, Stream and Lake protection section and Water Supply protection section, as well as th.... DWR, USGS and other stakeholders. To develop the program, each section will need to address a variety of issues and. develop long term goals. Following is a section-by-section breakdown of issues and goals that will be addressed in the development of a ttnified five year gaging plan: Flood Protection Program . Identify gages that should be "flood hardened" so floodplain warning systems, forecasting, and long-term hydrologic records can remain in tact during high flow events. . Develop construction, equipment, and operating criteria for flood hardening gages. . Identify areas that would benefit from the development of new flood warning systems and coordinate with local communities to develop, operate and maintain systems that will resttlt in savings to life and property. Stream and Lake Protection . Develop a process to identify streams where instream flow rights are likely to be senior enough to impact administration of water rights and a prioritization of those streams to determjne gaging needs for efficient administration. . Develop construction, equipment, and operating criteria for gages related to low flow and winter measurements that are affected by icing conditions. . Develop a Low Flow Warning System, to provide near real-time information on the occurrence of flows which approach ISF amounts. An automated system will free up staff resources and provide a more focused response in instances where the ISF rights may need to be administered in priority. . Maintain and acquire gaging, computer, mapping tools and equipment to efficiently manage raw data and data _ collection efforts for instream flow monitoring and enforcement. ..