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, ., '&) f"':, "" r') . !I.~I\ C.:...."\ 1 WATER The Encampment River contributes more than nine percent of the total water flow from the North Platte Basin. The annual water yield of the Encampment varies from 93,380 acre.feet to 251,300 acre.feet, and averages 162,600 acre-feet. The variation trom year to year results from the changes in snow accumulation, water content, and other factors such as timing and rate of melt. Peak runoff from the Encampment River Drainage usually occurs between late May and early June, and ranges trom 1,140 cubic feet per second to 4,510 cubic feet per second. Lack of adequate water is a limiting factor in the development of the North Platte Basin. As demands for industrial and municipal water increase due to coal, oil, and gas projects in eastern and northeastern Wyoming, the situation will become more acute and the value of the available water will increase. Research has demonstrated that properly designed c1earcuts result in increased water flow. Sustained yield timber harvest within the Encampment Unit's lodgepole pine forests could increase the average river flow about 2,850 acre-feet per year, enough water to supply the annual domestic needs of ",500 people or irrigate 760 acres per year. The chemical and physical Quality of the water is excellent inside the National Forest. The water currently is acceptable for animals, fish, and irrigation. Some sediment problems occur outside the National Forest on the North Fork between the forest boundary and the town of Encampment. As a result, chlorination is utilized for the town's domestic water supply, drawn from the river, The Encampment Barometer Watershed Study, in progress within parts of the Encampment Unit since '965, is an effort to measure and monitor the effect of various management practices on water. The Barometer Watershed encompasses 46,780 acres in the Upper Encampment River Drainage above the river's confluence with Hog Park Creek and various instruments are in place throughout the forest to measure temperature, precipitation, water flow, and water quality. This barometer study will provide land managers with the scientific capability to link water quantity and Quality to specific management practices applied to the land. In this way refined management programs can be implemented which insure adequate maintenance of water quality and quantity. fti--_..- --- -~-- ~ --- ~ ~ ~ ~,