Laserfiche WebLink
<br />!(""" <br />,-..:....... <br />;.,. . <br />,,- <br />, , <br />, , <br /> <br />3462 <br /> <br />I <br />Maryanne C Bach <br />Brian Person <br />October 6, 2000 <br />Page 6 <br /> <br />Program as a reasonable and prudent alternative for Upper Colorado River Basin <br />depletions. <br /> <br />UTILIZATION OF EAST SLOPE WATER RIGHTS <br /> <br />CBT operations have also been altered from that eontemplated in Senate <br />Doeument 80 by the failure to utilize the CBT Project's East Slope water rights to <br />fill Horsetooth Reservoir and Carter lake, The CBT PrOjeet is being operated in a <br />manner that sends West Slope water to the East Slope through the Adams Tunnel to <br />fill Horsetooth and Cafter at the end of Mareh or early April, Because these <br />reservoirs are almost completely filled early in the year with Colorado River Basin <br />water, there is insufficient space in the reservoirs when the CBT Projeet East Slope <br />decrees would allow diverSIOn of native Water for storage. <br /> <br />As described above, Senate Document 80 authorized and required a manner of <br />operation of the CST Project that would "reserve eapaCHY" in the East Slope <br />reservoirs until the "latter part of June" Utilization of forecasts based on snowfall <br />was Intended to allow the CST Project operators to determine the amount of <br />eaoaeitv in the East Slope reservoirs to be reserved in order to fully make use of the <br />available East Slope native water, A corresponding amount of water would be "held <br />back" in Granby Reservoir, <br /> <br />Senate Document 80 estimated that approximately 16,000 acre feet per year <br />would be derived from these East Slope sourees. A point flow study by Helton & <br />Williamsen has calculated the amount of Big Thompson River water available for <br />storage by the CST Project at a level remarkably simiiar to the original estimates. <br />The Helton & Williamsen point flow study showed that an average of close to <br />22,000 acre feet of native Big Thompson water eould have been diverted at the <br />Olympus and Dille diversions and integrated into the Projeet water supply (based on <br />a 1983-1998 study period). Of this total amount, approximately 18,000 acre feet <br />was available during May and June. The failure to utilize this in-basin available <br />water ,results in unauthorized and unneeessary diversions of West Slope water by the <br />CST P;oject <br /> <br />The Helton & Wi:tiamsen report includes an operational scenario that shows <br />full use of the CST Project East Slope water rights can be accomplished while <br />meeting all historie Projeet water demands Helton & Williamsen also eonelude that <br />