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3.2 Williams Fork River Basin <br />The Williams Fork River is a major tributary [o Che Yampa River. I[ <br />drains approximately 341 miZ or 10 percent of the Yampa Valley and <br />shows many of [he same characteristics as [he Yampa River. Peak flows <br />occur in the month of Kay and the majority of runoff occurs from April to <br />June. Water yield per unit drainage area decreases in a downstream <br />direction with higher elevation drainages supplying more snowmel[ runoff <br />than the lower areas. Average annual yield at the station above Willow <br />Creek is 1.0 cfs/mil average annual flow. For the Williams Fork river <br />at Hamilton, [he flow average is 0.5 cfs/miZ (7.2 inches of runoff). <br />Hinimum flows occur between August and February in the Williams Fork <br />River. <br />Water quality of the Williams Fork River exhibits the same seasonal vari- <br />• ' <br />ations as those of [he Yampa River. Table 3-2 shows selected chemical <br />data from [he 1975-76 water year. Major ions present are the same as <br />[hose of the Yampa River. However Ca makes up a larger percentage of the <br />cations present, and HC03 a larger percentage of the anions. <br />For water supplied to alluvial. aquifers in the Yampa and Williams Fork <br />rivers two important statements can be made. The majority of water <br />available for storage flows during the spring runoff period from April to <br />June of each year, and the majority of the runoff comes from areas high <br />in [he drainage basins of these rivers. Also, year to year variation in <br />• ) <br />-10- <br />