FLOOD04470 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

It has become evident that there are situations where short-term real-time data collection is necessary. This could include stations for flood warning, dam safety, or for specific water rights administration such as water exchanges. An example of one of these uses took place in May, 1987, when the Cucharas Reservoir (Division 2, Arkansas River basin) showed signs of possible dam failure. The reservoir was at. near capacity with 51,000 acre-feet of water. A monitoring station was installed the next day at the reservoir utilizing a pressure transducer to monitor stage elevation. Another station was installed upstream on the Cucharas River to monitor inflow. Both stations remained operational until August 1, 1987. Two sets of remote data collection hardware, portable shelters, and sensors are being pre-packaged to assist in meeting future needs. $utron plans on releasing a software package in early 1988 that will provide for programmable operation of the receive site demodulators. Operator input will direct the demodulators to switch channels by time. This will allow the monitoring of self-timed transmissions on different channels on a common demodulator saving the state from having to purchase additional demodu- lators. The software will be provided to the state at no cost by Sutron as part of the original contract. The ability to extract information from the enormous amounts of real-time data being collected can be enhanced through the development of more sophis- ticated software. Currently, several Division offices are developing various water resources accounting programs. Programs in the area of short-term runoff forecasting and automated river call determination are of special interest. Program development will come slow over the next two years but will gradually increase momentum as the monitoring system becomes more integrated into daily water rights administration. F. Monitoring System Network The real-time hydrologic data collection network operated by the state of Colorado is comprised of 150 stations. These stations were selected by the State Engineer, Division Engineers, and Water Commissioners with an emphasis on the need for real-time data for water rights administration. The following is a tabulation of the location of these stations by division/river basin: Division 1 / South Platte River Basin, 34 stations Division 2 / Arkansas River Basin, 43 stations Division 3 / Rio Grande Basin, 18 stations Division 4 / Gunnison River Basin, 11 stations Division 5 / Colorado River Basin, 22 stations Division 6 / White/Vampa River Basin, 2 stations Division 7 / Dolores/San Juan River Basins, 15 stations A detailed list of these stations is included in Table 1. In the network development, the primary considerations are administrative importance, utility in ,project management, and the interrelationship of each station to other stations in a subnetwork. The goal is to incorporate those stations that satisfied as many of these requirements as possible in order to obtain maximum -21-