PROJ00246 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I INTRODUCTION The Eagle River supplies water for municipal, irrigation and industrial uses and provides excellent fishing, white water rafting and recreational opportunities. In 1994, the Eagle River Assembly issued a report entitled .Overview of Eagle River Basin Water Issues.. The report concluded that reservoir storage in the upper Eagle River basin is needed to supplement natural streamflows in low-flow periods and to replace depletions with respect to instream flows. The Assembly is concerned with maintaining and. enhancing those environmental qualities of the Eagle River as well as providing good quality water for current and future users. This organization is comprised of local governmental entities, private corporations, and representatives of eastern slope cities. The Eagle River encompasses a drainage area of about 975 square miles which ranges in elevation from about 6,000 feet to over 14,000 feet. Streamflows resulting from snowmelt peak during early summer, and typically are lowest during late winter. The Assembly recognized that the streamflow is largely uncontrolled and may be inadequate to meet the demands in late summer and mid-winter for uses described above. Such shortages can be remedied by in-basin storage. It was estimated that in the near future about 3,000 acre-feet of stored water could be used for replacing and an additional 7,000 acre-feet will be needed to enhance the quantity and quality of the Eagle River stream flow. The Assembly did not evaluate specific water supply options. By Agreement dated April 9, 1993, with the predecessor to Cyprus Climax Metals Company (Cyprus), Vail Associates, Inc. obtained the option to a portion of the yield of Eagle Park Reservoir (aka Pond No.4). Vail Associates, Inc., together with Eagle River Water & Sanitation District (formerly the Vail Valley Consolidated Water District) and Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority, collectively referred to as the .Vail Consortium., are negotiating with Cyprus for the acquisition of the remainder of Eagle Park Reservoir. This reservoir is located in the East Fork Eagle River basin near Fremont Pass on property owned by Cyprus. The Vail Consortium would use the stored water to replace out-of-priority depletions caused by municipal and snowmal<ing diversions and to enhance the quality and quantity of Eagle River stream flow. Figure 1 is a map of the Eagle River basin which shows the general location of the pertinent features described in this report. , Eagle Park Reservoir was used by Cyprus to store mine tailings and process water for the mill. Cyprus completed the removal of the tailing deposits from the reservoir in October 1996. Cyprus contemplates storing some water in the reservoir in the spring of 1997 and testing the quality of the stored water to determine the effectiveness of the rehabilitation 1