WATER a panel discussion on

Yampa River Basinits geographyits hydrology

the law

Panelists

Jay Gallagher – General Manager, Mt Werner Water and Sanitation District

Kent Vertrees – Regional Representative, Yampa/White Basin Roundtable

Kevin McBride - General Manager, Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District

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We are a Headwaters StateColorado rivers nourish 30 million people in 19 states & Mexico

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Hydrology of the Yampa Basin

• Hydrology - the Distribution, Movement, and Quality of Water on Earth

• This Discussion Limited to Distribution and Movement of Surface Water in the Yampa River Basin

• Take Away Message - the Hydrology of the Yampa River is HIGHLY VARIABLE! In Space and Time…

Disclaimer-

“Averages Without Variances are Meaningless - Or Worse Misleading”

Droughts (and floods) are not the average and they are important hydrology planning tools!

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High Annual Variability – Between Years

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Average Precipitation

Variable in Space (think snow!)

Hydrologic Plot Thickens – Annual Variability & Seasonality

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Highly Variable Within the Year - Seasonality

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By volume, dry air contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, (on Average 21% O2)

* 19.5 percent: Minimum permissible oxygen level. No effect.

* 6-8 percent: 8 minutes - 100 percent fatal; 6 minutes - 50 percent fatal; 4-5 minutes - recovery with treatment. * 4-6 percent: Coma in 40 seconds, convulsions, respiration ceases - death.

Consider two sets of data of hourly oxygen in a room.

Both sets of numbers with the same daily average, 21.0%.

21,21,21,22,22,22,20,20,20,21,21,21- No effect

18,15,12,9,6,3,24,27,30,33,36,39 - Death

Beware the Average – an example

Hydrology – Beware the Average

Be Aware of the Variability

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A Tale of Two Drought Years

2002 2012

26 cfs Upper Yampa/Water Trust

Release from Stagecoach Reservoir

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Prior Appropriation a system of allocating water rights from a water source which developed due to the scarcity of water in that area.

Simple in Theory

“a call on the river”

Complex in

Application

Water Law in Colorado

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John Wesley Powell 1834 –1902)

• 1869 Powell Geographic Expedition, • Adoption of the appropriation doctrine in the Colorado

Constitution of 1876• Powell - proposed irrigation systems and state

boundaries based on watershed areas to avoid disagreements between states. (1878)

• The Office of the State Engineer was created in 1881• Powell - "Gentlemen, you are piling up a heritage of

conflict and litigation over water rights, for there is not sufficient water to supply the land.“ (1883)

• Colorado River Compact signed 1922• Water Right Determination and Administration Act of

1969 • Instream Flow Program Established 1973

Water Law - Long History

Delph Carpenter 1877-1951

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Water Resources Planning on the Yampa Intersection of Hydrology and Water Rights

Paleo (tree ring) hydrology

Planning for the Future? – Look at the Past

Modeling the YampaLooking at the present (water rights) through the eyes of the past (paleo) to see the future.

Colorado’s Water Future

• 2001-03 drought created the political will

• 2005 state legislature took action - HB05-1177 “Water for the 21st Century Act”

• A bottom-up planning process: Stakeholders in each of 8 major river basinsformed Basin Roundtables - to assess existing supplies and future needs - to develop Basin Plans - send reps to the Interbasin Compact Committee

• 2001-03 drought created the political will

• 2005 state legislature took action - HB05-1177 “Water for the 21st Century Act”

• A bottom-up planning process: Stakeholders in each of 8 major river basinsformed Basin Roundtables - to assess existing supplies and future needs - to develop Basin Plans - send reps to the Interbasin Compact Committee

2008 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 -

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

1,161,135

353,738

388,042

Statewide M&I and SSI Gap Summary Medium Scenario

(IPPs at 72% Yield)

Existing Supply 2050 Identified Projects and Processes2050 Gap Projection

Ac

re-F

ee

t/Y

ea

r

Existing Supply

Identified Projects & Processes

Shortfall

By 2050 population and economic growth to create a potential shortfall of 400,000AF.

Yampa-White-Green River BasinProjected water needs +67%

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20912

30

28

58

20

75

0

100

200

300

400

2008 2050

Agriculture Municipal-Industrial Thermal Power Energy Extraction med

222 KAF

372 KAF

000's acre-feet

Meeting the Shortfall• Identified Projects and Processes

• Pursue identified in-basin storage projects• Foster new relationships

- fallow/lease arrangements between farmers & municipalities- re-use/lease arrangements between municipalities eg WISE

• Conservation• Develop more efficient irrigation methods• Reduce municipal use

• Agricultural Transfers • aka “ag dry-up”

• New Supply• New strategic trans-mountain diversion

• Identified Projects and Processes• Pursue identified in-basin storage projects• Foster new relationships

- fallow/lease arrangements between farmers & municipalities- re-use/lease arrangements between municipalities eg WISE

• Conservation• Develop more efficient irrigation methods• Reduce municipal use

• Agricultural Transfers • aka “ag dry-up”

• New Supply• New strategic trans-mountain diversion

Meeting the Shortfallin the Yampa River Basin

• Identified Projects and Processes• Little Morrison Creek storage• Colorado Water Trust Lease

• Conservation• Steamboat Springs Conservation Plan

(tiered water rates, water-efficiency rebates, leak detection,customer usage web portal, drought response plan)

• Agricultural Transfers • none identified

• New Supply• Maybell pumpback

• Identified Projects and Processes• Little Morrison Creek storage• Colorado Water Trust Lease

• Conservation• Steamboat Springs Conservation Plan

(tiered water rates, water-efficiency rebates, leak detection,customer usage web portal, drought response plan)

• Agricultural Transfers • none identified

• New Supply• Maybell pumpback

Colorado Water Plan• A bottom-up process

• funded and facilitated by the CWCB.

• A bottom-up process • funded and facilitated by the CWCB.

Governor’s Office & Legislature

Colorado Water Conservation Board

Interbasin Compact Committee

Basin Roundtables (8)

Colorado Water Plan• Statement of values and policies to guide

decision-making at the local and state level.- projects and programs- legislation to facilitate plan implementation

• Establish goals to meet water policy objectives

• State as facilitator of plan implementation.

• Statement of values and policies to guide decision-making at the local and state level.

- projects and programs- legislation to facilitate plan implementation

• Establish goals to meet water policy objectives

• State as facilitator of plan implementation.

Constraints on Water Plan• Hydrologic

• Highly variable annual flows – all rivers in region• Climate change

• Legal • Existing water rights & law of prior appropriation• 15 Interstate and International Agreements (“Compacts”)

• Regulatory• Endangered Species Act (ESA)• Existing action plans to mitigate degradation

• eg Yampa Plan

• Economic/Political• Balancing impact on existing uses and future growth• Local

• Feasibility of a New Strategic Trans-mountain Diversion• All the constraints above • Cost of financing $10B-$15B project• Political will to sustain multi-decade project

• Hydrologic• Highly variable annual flows – all rivers in region• Climate change

• Legal • Existing water rights & law of prior appropriation• 15 Interstate and International Agreements (“Compacts”)

• Regulatory• Endangered Species Act (ESA)• Existing action plans to mitigate degradation

• eg Yampa Plan

• Economic/Political• Balancing impact on existing uses and future growth• Local

• Feasibility of a New Strategic Trans-mountain Diversion• All the constraints above • Cost of financing $10B-$15B project• Political will to sustain multi-decade project