WSP03609

• File Number: 8407
• Description: Platte River Basin - River Basin General Publications
• State: CO
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Date: 7/11/1984
• Author: Joe Tom Wood
• Title: Tunnel Vision - An Analysis of River Call Data in the South Platte River Basin
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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TUNNEL VISION

IntT'oducti.:on

In the course of the last four years, the author has come

across several contentions relating to the availability of water

for diversion from the South platte River:

o I$portations of water from the Western Slope of COlor~do.

into the South Platte River Basin, via the Harold D.

,
ROberts Tunnel, have resulted in more water available fot
dive~sion under water rights located downstream from the'
Metropolitan Denver area.

o The transfer and change of use of numerous agricultural

w~ter rights in the South Park area upstream from the

M~tropolitan Denver area have likewise resulted in more

w~ter available for diversion under water rights located

downstream from the Metropolitan Denver area.

o Calls from water rights downstream from the Metropolitan;

Denver area have decreased in severity, by virtue of thei

additional waters available for diversion described in

t~e two preceding contentions. The term decrease in

severity, as applied to river calls, means that the

calling water rights have changed from relatively senior

priority dates to relatively junior priority dates.

In the fall of 1982, the author created four general-purpo$e

computer programs designed to analyze river call data. (See

Appendix A both for the author's description of a .river call.

and for a detailed description of the development and capabili-

ties of the four computer programs.) One of the four programs,

named STAPRI, possessed the capability to evaluate the third con-

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