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<br />1$' # <br />. C I fII' <br /> <br />I ~ <br />I <br /> <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br /> <br />WRIGHT WATER ENGINEERS. INC. <br />ENGINEERING CONeULTANT8 <br />.oa. BRYANT .TRUT <br />O.NViIR, COLORADO eo&1I <br />(aoa) ......01 <br /> <br />KKNNKTH R. WRIGHT <br />WILLI"N L. LORAH <br /> <br />".MBU <br /> <br />3 July 1972 <br /> <br />Mr. Robe rt E. <br />Stearns-Roger <br />700 South Ash <br />Box 5888 <br />Denver, Colorado <br /> <br />Warner <br />Corporation <br />Street <br /> <br />80217 <br /> <br />Re: <br /> <br />Elkhead Creek Reservoir <br /> <br />Dear Mr. Warner: <br /> <br />We have reviewed the matter of an enlargement to the potential Elkhead Creek <br />Reservoir which would be used in conjunction with the Colorado Game, Fish, and <br />Parks recreational storage as an emergency storage supply for either a two-400 MW <br />unit or a four-400 MW unit power plant to be constructed on the Yampa River down- <br />stream of Craig, Colorado. This investigation has included a review of the water <br />right decrees and filings of the State Engineer's Office; discussions with the <br />Division 6, State Engineer's Office' District Court in Craig; and the Colorado <br />Game, Fish, and Parks; a review of our past work in the area; and a review of <br />published reports of the U.S. Geological Survey. Based on this information, <br />we have listed the following facts and conclusions regarding Elkhead Creek <br />Reservoir. <br /> <br />I. The potential Elkhead Creek Reservoir site is situated nine airl ine miles <br />northeast of Craig and On the mainstem of Elkhead Creek about four miles upstream <br />of its confluence with the Yampa River. The site is located in Section 16, <br />Township 7 North, Range 89 West of the 6th Principal Meridian. Elkhead Creek <br />is a north bank tributary of the Yampa River and has a total drainage basin of <br />about 250 square miles. At the damsite, the drainage basin is about 220 square <br />miles. The basin varies from about 6,240 feet to elevations over 10,000 feet. <br /> <br />2. U. S. Geological Survey stream gaging records in the Elkhead Creek basin have <br />been collected for ten to 20 years at various upstream stations. Elkhead Creek <br />near Elkhead (64.2 square miles) and North Fork Elkhead Creek near Elkhead (21 <br />square miles) have apparently been used with certain modifications in your <br />operational study of physical water availabil ity for the reservoir. We under- <br />stand that the physical flow data from the addition of the two stations was <br />increased for the physical flow at the damsite in direct proportion to tribu- <br />taryarea. We bel ieve that this may give an optimistic view of water avail- <br />ability and that actually the flow at the two stations should be increased by <br />a factor not much higher than about 1.5 for estimating the flow at Elkhead Creek Reser- <br />voi r. <br />3. Physical flow records were collected by the U. S. Geological Survey for <br />nine years between 1910 and 1918 at a site near the confluence of Elkhead Creek <br />and the Yampa River. High flows occurred for this 250 square-mile basin generally <br />during April, May, and June, with the peak flow normally in May. For the remain- <br />ing months, the stream flows are generally less than 10 cfs. Storage in Elkhead <br />Creek Reservoir would occur mainly during the spring runoff months and less during <br />