FLOOD00632

• County: Denver
• County: Jefferson
• Community: Morrison, Denver
• Stream Name: Bear Creek Lake
• Title: Flood Control Project Bear Creek Lake
• Date: 11/1/1972
• Prepared For: State of Colorado
• Prepared By: US Army Corps of Engineers
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Project

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c. Current utilization rf Sod" Lakes. The interconnected Soda
Lakes have a combined ston:,;c ca~c.city of about 1,736 acre-feet, of
\lhich about 1,500 acre-feci; is active storage. Water in the active
storage zone-is'-fiub,Ject to \Ii thdrawal, principally on a seasonal basis,
by shareho~ders of ';he Sod~ lhker Reservoir and Mineral Water Company.
To aCCOnh110ilat", t:,e )roposed r"c:eation use, local sponsors intend
acquisition of an interest in the storage and use of water through
appropriate financilll arrllng8IT.Cnts '.ith present owners under Colorado
water la\/s. An est:lmate of thc cost of such acquisition is included
in the estimate of costs for the optimum recreation plan recOllllllended
by the Bureau of Ou';door Recreation.

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d. Water requ:.remen1--s. To utilize the Soda Lakes for recreation
functions in accordance with the: optimum recreation plan would require
an estimated 1,500 Here-fed of water for initial fill and an estimated
230 acre-feet annua:.ly for -:"pl~nishment of losses. Combined with
the initial fill requirement of 2,400 acre-feet for the recreation
pool of the Mount CeLroon F:e~er,oir and a replenishment volume of 300
acre-feet annually, the total \/uter requirements for the project's
recreation functionn 'Would be 3,900 acre-feet for initial fill and
530 acre-feet annuaJ~y for storage replenishment.

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4. COSTS AND BENEFITS

8. Benefits. The Bl~e8u of Outdoor Recreation has estimated
that optimum development of the Mount Carbon area for recreation
would result in net annual recrestion benefita of $815,000, of
\/hich $625,000 is attributable to general recreation functions
and $190,000 is sttributable to fish and \/ildlife functions.
This'represents an increase of $642,000 over the $173,000
snnual recreation benefits reported for the recommended plan.
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b. Costs. The: additio::lal lands, facilities, and water purchases
required for the opt.imum recl'ca'.;ion development of the Mount Carbon
Reservoir would increase the estimated project first cost from
$29,800,000 to $32,617,000. Comparative cost and benefit data, based
on a 3.25 percent ir,terest rate and an economic life of 100 years, for
the recommended plsr, and for the plan including optimum recreation
development are pree,ented in table 2.

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"R" November 1967

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