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V-3 The voluntary effort necessary to arrange releases of adequate water for special events has been successful because of official sanction of particu- lar events and oftentimes having governmental pfficials participate as boat- ers or sponsors. In past years individuals and teams from state legislative groups, the Governor's office, the Environmental Protection Agency, Denver Water Department, and consulting engineers have participated in the racing events. voir. Therefore, if a boating event is to commence at Confluence Park at 9:00 a.m. on a particular day, the gate at Chatfield Reservoir must be opened by at least 9:00 p.m. the previous day. Usually, a telephone call by the Greenway Foundation to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's representative at Chatfield Reservoir, if the water level ele- vation were above 5,432 feet, or to the State Engineer's Water Commissioner and to the Denver Water Department, if the water level were lower, would initiate a special water release request. The USACE representative at Chat- field would report the request to the reservoir regulation section in Omaha for informational and approval purposes. An approval would be given as long as concurrence was available from the state official. The details of the water release would be worked out by the USACE representative and the State Water Commissioner, so that the water would be utilized by a downstream hol- der of water rights. This, in effect, constituted a delivery of decreed water, which was transferred at a time when it could serve multiple pur- poses. Water was never allowed to go to waste, nor did any vested water right receive less than its due. Need for Institutionalized Procedures The historic practice of obtaining adequate flows in the South Platte River for special recreational purposes could become obsolete with a change of presently knowledgeable and helpful governmental officials. An institution- alized procedure involving water rights and a formal agreement among the interested agencies could insure that the benefits achieved through current informal practices would be preserved. An agreement concerning low-flow maintenance and/or procedures for special releases would require the participation of the following agencies to be effective: 1. State Department of Natural Resources 2. State Engineer's Office 3. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 4. Denver Water Department 5. A South Platte River Corridor Agency When the level of Chatfield is between elevation 5,423 and 5,432 feet, the Denver Water Department must concur in the release of water. This means that three governmental levels are involved. Releases of 200 cfs from Chat- field have been approved from time to time since 1975, based on the above procedures. Each special request has been honored to date as long as it was physically possible for the regulatory officials to accommodate the request without injury to vested water rights. At the present time, there is no South Platte River Corridor Agency; how- ever, the Greenway Foundation serves this function in an ad hoc manner in Denver. The Foundation has been successful because of the assistance and/or support of the Mayor of Denver and the Governor of Colorado, in addition to the above-named federal, state and local government agencies. Water Rights A schematic straight-line diagram showing decreed water rights on the South Platte River from Chatfield Reservoir to Brighton is presented in Figure V-I. Travel Time A release of water from Chatfield Reservoir must commence at least twelve hours prior to a scheduled water event at Confluence Park. The travel time of the water is estimated to be 10 to 12 hours. Travel times to other loca- tions are dependent upon their distances downstream from Chatfield Reser- A knowledge of water rights is necessary in water flow management of the South Platte River for multiple-use purposes. Comments on specific water rights follow in a downstream order.