Laserfiche WebLink
<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br />Department of Natural Resources <br />721 Centennial Building <br />1313 Sherman Street <br />Denver. Colorado 80203 <br />Phone: (3031 866.344' <br />FAX: (3031 866.4474 <br /> <br />STATE OF COLOMDO <br /> <br />f):. <br />~. ." <br />, <br /> <br />Roy Romer <br />Governor <br /> <br />MEMORANDUM <br /> <br />lolmes S. Lochhead <br />Executive Director, DNR <br />DilriesC. Lile. PE. <br />Director, eWeB <br />Peter H. Evans <br />ACing Director, eweB <br /> <br />TO: Colorado Water Conservation Board Members <br /> <br />FROM: Dan Merriman <br /> <br />DATE: November 17, 1998 <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Agenda Item 8c, November 23-24, 1998, Board Meeting- <br />Instream Flow Program - Informational Items <br />Potential Enforcement Concerns: Rio Blanco Instream Flow <br /> <br />Backe:round <br /> <br />In December of 1974, the Colorado Water Conservation Board (Board) appropriated an <br />instream flow water right on the Rio Blanco from the Blanco Diversion Dam to the <br />confluence with the San Juan River, a distance of approximately sixteen miles. The <br />amounts appropriated were 29.0 cfs from May I through September 30 and 20.0 cfs from <br />October I through April 30. <br /> <br />Over the years the Board staff and the Division 7 Engineer and staff have worked with <br />the Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) to insure the Board's instream flow water right was <br />met. This effort has included insuring the proper installation and operation of gaging <br />stations, the timely reporting of flow and diversion information, and promoting the <br />exercise of flexibility in the operation of the San Juan-Chama project in a manner to <br />minimize its impact on the Board's water right while maintaining project yields. These <br />efforts have met with varying degrees of success - sometimes being quite successful, <br />sometimes not. <br /> <br />This situation is complicated by the fact that the Bureau's by-pass requirements do not <br />match the Board's instream flow water right amounts at all times. There are times when <br />the Bureau's numbers are higher and times when they are lower. The Board staff have <br />asked the Colorado Division of Wildlife to review the basis for the Board's amounts to <br />determine if they are appropriate, in light of these differences. The DOW, through <br />extensive field data collection and analysis, has confirmed that the Board's instrearn flow <br />amounts are indeed appropriate. <br />