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<br />nnls~3 <br /> <br />b. Water Quantit,_ <br /> <br />There are no stream gaging devices in the Oh-Be-Joyful watershed. <br />Average annual flow below the study area boundary, at the confluence <br />of Oh-Be-Joyful and Peeler Creeks, for the period of/1935 to 1977 has <br />been estimated to be approximately 13,200 acre-feet- , or 2.17 acre- <br />feet/acre/year. (For comparison purposes, the average annual water <br />yield from the entire Gunnison National Forest is about .90 acre- <br />feet/acre/year.) From that relationship, it is estimated that the <br />average annual water yield from the Study Area is approxiIlately 12 I 000 <br />acre-feet. Average, maximum, and minimum monthly flow es;_imates for <br />the 1935 to 1977 period are in Appendix C. Estimates of J'eak flows <br />and monthly low flows for various recurrance intervals ar,~ also in <br />Appendix C. <br /> <br />Oh-Be-Joyful Creek has been considered as an alternative source of <br />water by the town of Crested Butte. The Oh-Be-Joyful drainage pro- <br />duces (at it's confluence with Slate River) arproximately 15% less <br />water than Coal Creek (the town I 5 exist.ing sOl,rce) at the existing <br />municipal intake. In order to utilize a grav:ty flow system from Oh- <br />Be-Joyful Creek to the existing Crested Butte terminal storage reser- <br />voir, the point of diversion would need to be at an elevation of <br />approximately 9,400 feet - just below the conlluence of Oh-Be-Joyful <br />and Peeler Creeks (outside the Study Area). Ft that point, the <br />watershed produces about 30% less water than Coal Creek at the exist- <br />ing municipal intake. It is unlikely that Crested Butte would propose <br />to divert water above Peeler Creek (inside the Study Area) since it <br />would require longer transmission lines and supply less w~ter for <br />municipal use - while providing no apparent advantage. <br /> <br />If, in the future, it becomes advantageous for the town of Crested <br />Butte to divert water from Oh-Be-Joyful, the reduction in water <br />availablility could make the construction of a storage reservoir <br />necessary to supply the water needs of the Town. One possibility <br />would be the construction of a reservoir within the Study'\ Area. One <br />potential reservoir site has been identified at 9599 feet'on Oh-Be- <br />.royful Creek, near the lower Study Area boundary. - Other potential <br />~eservoir sites exist both inside and outside the Study Area, but none <br />have been proposed for development or explored for feasibility. <br /> <br />rhe East River Land Management Plan projected average annual water <br />yield increase from the entire East River Management Unit t.o be about <br />1500 acre-feet. That figure primarily represents incident~l increases <br />resulting from vegetation management - principally timber h3rvest. <br />opportunities for water yield increases associated with veg~tation <br />management are negligible in the Oh-Be-Joyful Wilderness Study Area <br />due to its high elevation, steep slopes, and the character of its <br />vegetative cover (i.e., mostly unforested). <br /> <br />1/ <br /> <br />Black & Veatch (consulting engineers), Crested Butte Water Supply <br />?tudy, Report Prepared For AMAX, Inc., 1980. <br /> <br />y <br /> <br />Black & Veatch, 1980. <br /> <br />26 <br />