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. . ..~ ) ~ en en / !$lfit, 'fI;,'""_ FED ",:} ... J' I.-'~ Co CUeu., . "07 IVS[I/v'A '''' ,It TIOq B OAIIO SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT February 15, 1967 mSTORY & PURPOSE OF ANALOG MODEL ARKANSAS RIVER, COLORADO The Board of Directors of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District first entered into a cooperative agreement with the United States Geological Survey in July of 1961, in order that research mlght commence on the Arkansas River, an integral part of the proposed Fryingpan Arkansas River Project being sponsored by the Conocrvancy District, The first contract in- volved an investment of $1, 500 by the USGS, and $3,000 by the District. Similar contracts were completed for the fiscal years of 1963, and 1964 in the same amounts of money, and during this three year period, a wealth of reliable information was assembled on water flow, water in storage, water used by ditch companies and municipalities, and so on, Little or no information was available on the amount of water pumped in the Valley, or its effect upon the river, On ,July I, 1964, the Board voted to participate with USGS and the Colorado Water Conservation Board in an inlarged program involving a new instrument called the "Analog Model", The use of the principle of analogy is the process of attacking the unknown in torms of the known, It is one of man's oldest and most effective methods of solving problems, A simple and familiar type of analogy is the scale model in which every element of the original is reproduced at some smaller size, Other analogies, which are more complex and more difficult to visualize, are based upon the mathematical similarity between phys- ical systems from entirely different disciplines. If each element of a prototype system is replaced by a corresponding element in a model system and if all interactions between there elements are appropriately expressed and if the per- formance characteristics of the two systems are similar, the two systems are analogous. The chief advantage of this technique is that the scientist does not have to solve explicit mathematical equations, but can obtain a solution in the form of a direct readout from the model. It is necessary only that the analog be a true and valid model and that the applied forces and boundary conditions be known, This model was designed as an exact replica of the Arkansas River with electrical current substituting for water flow, both surface and ground. The "model" is located at the giant USGS Research Cen':er in Phoenix, Arizona, where numerous other States, River Basins, and Conservancy Districts have similar studies in progress. The cost to the District and the USGS increased to $10,000 each, with the