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<br />.' '~ <br /> <br />.' <br /> <br />:-;i, <br /> <br />0002~O <br /> <br />.,-:; <br />::;:'" <br /> <br />....' <br />.,' " <br /> <br /> <br />,,~ {.~: <br /> <br />,..' <br />-':': <br /> <br />'.,.' <br /> <br />,. <br />~.< <br /> <br />^,; <br /> <br />,. <br />". <br /> <br />In regard to foreign water, Colorado water laws provide: (1) The right <br />for reuse of foreign water (subsequent use for same purpose as original use); <br />(2) the right for successive use of foreign water (subsequent use for a <br />different use); and (3) the right of disposition, or right to sell, lease, <br />exchange, or otherwise dispose of foreign water (Radosevich and others, 1976, <br />p. 88-89, 93-95). Transmountain water, then, can be used and reused until <br />totally consumed, whereas native water can be used only once by any given <br />water-right holder. <br /> <br />Historically, Colorado Springs. has directly reused part of its <br />transmountain water. The remaining return flows associated with trans- <br />mountain water, as well as return flows associated with native water, have <br />been discharged into Fountain Creek through the. Colorado Springs Wastewater <br />Treatment Facility (fig. 1). Lesser volumes of native and transmountain <br />return flow enter Fountain Creek from unmetered return flows such as lawn <br />i r riga tion. <br /> <br />In the future, Colorado Springs will completely use its transmountain <br />water by water exchanges and other arrangements. The essence of Colorado <br />Springs' Arkansas River exchange is thattransmountain return flows reaching <br />the Arkansas River at the mouth of Fountain Creek would be used to satisfy <br />downstream priority water rights on the Arkansas River. Satisfaction of <br />this need would enable storage of a similar volume of water in Pueblo <br />Reservoir, which is located on the Arkansas River about 10 mi upstream from <br />the confluence with Fountain Creek (fig. 1). The water stored in Pueblo <br />Reservoir then could be "exchanged" for water in upstream reservoirs. From <br />these reservoirs, the water could be diverted into the Colorado Springs water- <br />collection system. The Colorado Springs water-collection system and the <br />proposed Arkansas River exchange are described in detail by Gronning <br />Engineering Company (1986). <br /> <br />Purpose and Scope <br /> <br />Proper administration of Colorado Springs' Arkansas River exchange <br />requires quantification of transmountain return flows that reach the Arkansas <br />River. The purpose of this report is to present the results of a study, <br />which has been completed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with <br />the city of Colorado Springs, Department of Public Utilities, to identify <br />and quantify the transit losses associated with transmountain return flows <br />for a reach of Fountain Creek. In addition, a technique to calculate the <br />net amount of transmountain return flow that reaches the Arkansas River on <br />any given day is presented. <br /> <br />Transit losses were studied only for the reach of Fountain Creek <br />between the point where the Colorado Springs Wastewater Treatment Facility <br />discharges into the creek and the .confluence of Fountain Creek with the <br />Arkansas River (fig. 1). Exchanges of transmountain water are made on a <br />daily basis; therefore, the losses were determined on a daily basis. Average <br />daily streamflow, diversion, and transmountain return-flow data were used in <br />the analysis. <br /> <br />2 <br />