WSP04694

• File Number: 8281.400
• Description: Colorado River Studies and Investigations -- Colorado River Depletion Projections
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 6/1/1965
• Author: C. Jex Engineers
• Title: Report on Water Runoff and Stream Depletion of the Main Stem Colorado River Basin in Colorado
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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RIFLE - WEST DIVIDE SUBBASIN

Location and Description
The Rifle-West Divide Subbasin is the drainage basin
of th~ Colorado River between Glenwood Springs and the mouth
of Plateau Creek near Cameo, Colorado. The principal tribu-
tary s~reams include Canyon Creek, Elk Creek, Divide Creek,
Rifle Creek, Parachute Creek and Roan Creek. Since the water-
shed i~ of somewhat lower altitude (5000 to 11,000 feet) the
streamb of the subbasin produce a less firm useable water
supply! with a higher variation of annual stream runoff than
some ot the other subbasins. A large portion of basin tribu-
i
tary stream runoff originates on the watershed north of the
river and east of the Town of Rifle.
The subbasin includes parts of three counties with
83.4% in Garfield County, 16.0% in Mesa County and 0.6% in
Rio Blanco County. The watershed area comprises 19.6% of the
river basin above the Colorado-Utah State line and provides
only 9~2% of the historic runoff at the State line.
Water t1.unoff
The average annual historic runoff of the subbasin
for the 18 year study period of 1943-1960 was 263,800 acre
feet. 'The following table gives the annual runoff of the Colo-
rado River at Cameo, the combined annual runoff of the Colorado
River and the Roaring Fork River at Glenwood Springs and the
subbasin watershed inflow taken as the difference between the
subbasin river inflow at Glenwood Springs and the river dis-

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