WSPC01242

• File Number: 8541
• Description: Rio Grande Basin-Rio Grande River Basin Water Projects-San Luis Valley Project
• State: CO
• Basin: Rio Grande
• Water Division: 3
• Date: 2/1/1955
• Title: A Report on Fish and Wildlife Resources-San Luis Valley Project-Rio Grande Division
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

6. A 32-year monthly operation study based on past reoords for

the period 1920 through 1951 indioated that storage would have been

in the inviolate flood oontrol pool 1 month and would have been between

that pool and the maximum operating pool for 50 months. Maximum

'0'

fluotuation would have been 250 feet and average annual fluotuation

would have been 89 feeto The reservoir would have been drained for

a total of 23 months, onoe for a oontinuous period of 11 months.

Opera ting levels are shown in Table 1.
Table l--Wagon Wheel Gap Reservoir Data

CO,

Elevation Capaoi ty Surfaoe Shore-line Stream
(ft. m.s.I.) (acre-ft.) Area Length Length
(aores) (mile s) (miles)
Flood Control Pool 8,$)500 500,000 5,450 36 21.3
Bottom of Inviolate 8,683.0 440,000 4,850 32 19.0
Flood Control Pool
Maximum Operating Pool 8,650.0 300,000 3,740 29 15.3
Average lumual Maximum 8,63901 261,000 3,370 26 14.0
Pool
Average lumue.l Minimum 8,550.0 59,000 1,380 13 6.5
Pool
Bottom of Irrigation 8.440.0
Pool
Streambed 8,44000

7. The Rio Grande Division will change the irrigation pattern

of the San Luis Valley by reregulatl.ng surfaoe nmoff originating

1185

.

above Wagon Wheel Gap Dam. From 1925 to 1951. an average of 545,000

acre-feet of water was taken fram the Rio Grande, mostly during the

spring snow melt, to irrigate 271,000 aores. Later in the season there

was usually a water defioienoy. With Wagon Wheel Gap Reservoir in
C

operation the runoff from snow melt will be controlled by the reservoir.

3