C153333 Feasibility Study - Laserfiche WebLink

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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I-3 The climate at Beaver Park is generally described as mild with cold winters and warm to hot summers, The tem- perature range is from _20oF. to 98oF. with an average of 54oF, The average frost-free period is 168 days with oc- casional frost days into the end of April. These occasional late frosts can damage the fruit crops for which Penrose is famous, There is some occurrence of strong winds associated with the passage of cold fronts through the area and with summer thunderstorms. which occasionally produce hail. The precipitation was measured at .Penrose until 1973 and the monthly data from 1963 to 1972 is presented in the following table. The average rainfall for the period is 13.70 inches and 82% of the total falls during the growing season. The table indicates the wide variability of rain- fall during the growing season, particularly during July and August. This lack of dependability of rainfall compounds the problem of deficiencies in delivery of irrigation water, The water supply for Beaver Park is from Beaver Creek which drains the south slope of Pikes Peak. Beaver Creek has a drainage area of 180 square miles and has become a highly-developed water supply source, The City of Colorado Springs derives a portion of its water supply from the Mid- dle and East Forks of Beaver Creek. Skagway Reservoir was developed to provide hydroelectric power, but generation was terminated in 1965 and the reser- voir is now owned by the Colorado Division of Wildlife. The cessation of power generation has eliminated the streamflow regulation of that operation and the Beaver Park diversion is now subject to greater seasonal variability, There have been preliminary discussions with the Division of Wildlife in regard to the use of Skagway Reservoir to augment the late summer low flows on Beaver Creek.