Laserfiche WebLink
<br />. <br /> <br />PART IV --HYDROLOGY <br />WATER RESOURCES <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The water resource analyses included examination of records of <br />available surface and ground water supplies for the period of study <br />1947 through 1961, Flows available for diversion under water rights <br />held by the cities in the basin were also determined in order to <br />estimate ultimate yields from these rights, The period 1947 through <br />1961 was chosen as the period on which to base the analyses because <br />this period includes the drouth of the 1950's as well as several <br />years of high flow and because the average annual basin supply for <br />the period closely resembles the long-term average. <br /> <br />Surface Supplies <br /> <br />The total historic surface water supply available to the basin <br />accrues from several sources, Table 1 lists these sources and the <br />average annual supply for the study period, 1947-1961, <br /> <br />The flow at the mouth of the canyon constitutes the gross <br />surface water supply available for irrigation and M&I uses in the <br />basin, while the flow at the mouth of the river near Greeley is <br />essentially unused return flow. However, during some spring snow- <br />melt periods, the flow is so great that the entire volume cannot be <br />controlled by the existing diversion facilities, This uncontrolled <br />water flows from the basin unused, and constitutes the supply which <br />could be regulated in the potential Idylwilde Reservoir for use during <br />periods of shortage, <br /> <br />The time of occurrence and the quantity of these unused flows, <br />which will henceforth be designated as' "storable surplus flows" were <br />determined by making a point flow analysis, which is a detailed <br />accounting of monthly flows and diversions, A sunnnary of the results <br />obtained by the point flow analysis and also the estimates of surplus <br />flows made by the Colorado Water Commissioner are shown in table 2, <br /> <br />Although the first water deliveries to the Cache la Poudre <br />Basin were made from the Colorado-Big Thompson Project in 1952, it <br />was not until 1957 that full operation of this project was achieved, <br />Thus, the water supply records for the study period, 1947-1961, are <br />incomplete with respect to the total water supply that is now and <br />will in the future be available to the Cache la Poudre Basin, There- <br />fore, in order to make estimates of future water needs, it was <br />necessary to determine the supply that would have been available had the <br />the Colorado-Big Thompso~ Project been in full operation throughout <br />the study period, <br /> <br />This analysis was based on a study made by the South Platte <br />River Projects office, Region 7, Bureau of Reclamation, and reflects <br />the adjusted monthly deliveries to each ditch system in the Cache <br />la Poudre Basin for the study period, Table 3 is a sunnnary of <br />this analysis, <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />13 <br /> <br />