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<br />the Eagle and Piney Rivers and Stages II and III would allow continued integration of the
<br />Department's 1971 rights. Ultimately, Stage IV would enable the collection of all remaining water
<br />available to the Board's appropriations. The staging would improve the potential for realizing
<br />economies by recognizing the cost, water delivery and legal implications, and by scheduling the
<br />construction aq:ordingly. For example, the development of competing water appropriations would
<br />have a more significant impact on certain streams than on others. By carefully scheduling the
<br />activities on the various streams, the Department's possibiiities of expending capital to develop
<br />the less productive streams would be minimized. It should be emphasized that the plan should
<br />be modified as new information concerning competing water rights, power and construction costs,
<br />and legal and environmental constraints becomes available.
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<br />Proposed Stage I. Stage I of the recommended plan, as shown on Plate 8, would
<br />incorporate the Board's 1956 appropriations on the following streams: Gore Creek, Bighorn
<br />Creek, Pitkin Creek, Booth Creek, Middle Creek, Red Sandstone Creek, Piney River, East Meadow
<br />Creek, Meadow Creek and Black Gore Creek.
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<br />Stage I would include the Vail P~ss Tunnel from the east portal to Gore Creek, the Gore Creek
<br />to Bighorn Creek Tunnel, the Bighorn Creek to Pitkin Creek Tunnel. the Pitkin Creek to Booth Creek
<br />Tunnel, the Booth Creek to Middle Creek Tunnel, the Middle Creek to Red Sandstone Creek Tunnel,
<br />. the Red Sandstone Creek to Piney Reservoir Tunnel, the Piney Reservoir to East Meadow Creek
<br />Tunnel, the East Meadow Creek to Meadow Creek Tunnel and the Black Gore Creek Tunnel. All
<br />tunnels would be 8 ft.-10 in. inside diameter except the Vail Pass Tunnel from its east portal to
<br />Gore Creek, which would be 10ft. - 0 in. inside diameter.
<br />
<br />Piney Reservoir, with a total storage capacity of 40,000 ac-ft, would be constructed during
<br />this stage. All stream diversion structures on the above streams, the appurtenances submerged
<br />in the reservoir, the Vail Pass outlet structure and the Ten Mile Creek stream improvements would
<br />likewise be completed.
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<br />The tunnel segment from the east portal of the Vail Pass Tunnel to a point 5,000 feet west
<br />is common to all configurations. This common element will help provide flexibility in the continued
<br />planning and also will assist in the determination of possible substaging of the Stage I program.
<br />For example, the implementation could begin at any time with the designed construction of this
<br />segment.
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<br />The average annual water delivery from Gore Creek, Black Gore Creek, Bighorn Creek, Booth
<br />Creek, Pitkin Creek, Middle Creek and Red Sandstone Creek, parts of Stage I, is about 42,000
<br />ac-ft per year.
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<br />The average annual production from the Piney River is about 11.000 ac-ft. Piney Reservoir
<br />would improve the average annual delivery to Dillon Reservoir by about 1,400 ac-ft. The average
<br />annual water delivery from the Meadow and East Meadow Creek sources is 4,000 ac-ft. It is an
<br />advantage to plan the construction of the East Meadow and Meadow Creek Tunnels in this stage,
<br />since those tunnels would be built from a site in the Piney Reservoir. Delay of this construction
<br />to another stage would result in the need later to lower the water level in Piney Reservoir for
<br />construction.
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<br />During the planning of Stage I, it is recommended that the cost and delivery implications
<br />of collecting the remaining appropriations of the Eagle-Piney portion by gravity and by pumping
<br />be evaluated, using the latest construction cost and water availability data. As construction of
<br />Stage I nears completion, information regarding the development of competing water
<br />appropriations may be more precise and permit a clearer understanding of the potential effects.
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