# Presentation: 321595

## Climate Data and Water Resources Management

**Sub-Regional Climate Services Workshop**
**August 24 -25, 2004**
**Boulder, Colorado**

- Esther Vincent
- Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District

##  C-BT Project Overview?
Water Allocation Process
Streamflow Forecasting
Other Uses of Climate Data in Planning Process

- Water Allocation Process
- Streamflow Forecasting
- Other Uses of Climate Data in Planning Process

## Climate 

- Climate
- and Hydrology

## COLORADO CLIMATE

**Dry & Variable**

## Dry & extremely variable
Semi Arid

**Dry & extremely variable**
**Semi Arid**

**Average Annual Precipitation 17 in Statewide **
**Throughout State from 6 in to 55 in**
**West side of Washington State= 160 in**

**Notes:**
Continental = cold winters and hot summers
Topography (state divided by Rockies)= West Slope gets most of the moisture
Colorado is a semi arid state where precipitation is highly variable. It ranges from an annual average of 6 in. in Southern Colorado up to 40 in. in the Rockies. Compare with the annual average of 160 in. on the Coast of Washington State.

## MAJOR NORTHERN 

**MAJOR NORTHERN **
**COLORADO BASINS**
**South Platte & Colorado River**

## Slide 7

## POPULATION

## Slide 9

**Notes:**
This map shows all the transmountain diversions. It illustrates what was mentioned previously regarding the distribution of water resources in Colorado. A third of those transbasin diversions end up in the South Platte basin, but in volume it represents around 75% of all the transbasin diversions.

## CACHE LA POUDRE NATIVE FLOW

**CACHE LA POUDRE NATIVE FLOW**

**Notes:**
80% of annual inflows flows in the rivers between Apr and July. Hence the necessity to build storage to be able to store the water during runoff season and redistribute it in a more even manner to suit the demand pattern of municipal, industrial and agricultural users.

## THE COLORADO-

- BIG THOMPSON
-  PROJECT

## Slide 12

## C-BT Project

- A supplemental water supply for:  600,000 acres of irrigated farmland; 30 cities, towns, and domestic water purveyors; 120 ditch and reservoir companies

**12 reservoirs**
**35 miles of tunnels and siphons**
**95 miles of canals**
**6 hydro-power plants**
**Green Mountain Reservoir**

**C-BT Project**

## WATER ALLOCATION PROCESS

- What is Quota ?
- How is Quota determined ?

## WHAT IS QUOTA ?

- QUOTA =
- CBT WATER NEEDED / 310 000
- Example: CBT WATER NEEDED = 155 000 af
- Quota = 155 000 / 310 000 af = 50%

**AVERAGE YEAR DEMAND**
** – ****NATIVE SUPPLY **
_**– **__**USE FROM LOCAL STORAGE**_
**= CBT WATER NEEDED**** **

## WATER SUPPLIES

## STREAMFLOW 

**FORECASTING **

## APRIL 1 SNOWPACK

- SUNDANCE 11 100 ft :
- 40 % of avg

- GENEVA PARK 9700 ft:
- 13% of avg

## Snowpack Distributionhttp://www.co.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/data/snmap404.html

- Snowpack Distributionhttp://www.co.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/data/snmap404.html

## Slide 20

## April 1st Snowpack Upper Colorado (SWE)

| Watershed | 2004 (in.) | Avg (in.) | % Avg |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Blue River | 9.2 | 13.0 | 70% |
| Upper Colorado | 4.6 | 12.0 | 38% |
| Willow Creek | 4.1 | 9.2 | 44% |
| Fraser River | 7.0 | 12.0 | 58% |

## NOAA Seasonal Outlook  http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2004/s2191.htm

## NOAA – CIRES Climate Diagnostics centerKlaus Wolter www.cdc.noaa.gov/~kew/Swcasts/index.html

- Near-neutral ENSO conditions most likely for the next few months
- Wet spring unlikely in Colorado

- Forecast not encouraging especially for the western two thirds of Colorado

## Extended Weather outlook – Creighton UniversityDr. Art Douglas

- Spring circulation pattern will favor dryness
- Weakening El Nino conditions
- Development of La Nina will drive summer weather patterns
- March-May precipitation  about 70-80% of average

## Tree Ring Studies

*TreeFlow *project (NOAA Office of Global Programs Climate Change Data and Detection Program and the NOAA/CIRES _[Western Water Assessment](http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/wwa/)__ program) : reconstruction of streamflow records for Colorado_
- Assess the natural variability of the system they are managing
- Determine frequency of drought events of varying severity and develop drought record to use as the worst-case scenario in contingency planning.

## Source:  Hydrosphere

## Source:  Hydrosphere

## Windy Gap Project

## Windy Gap Pumping Operation:

**2. Power Contract Obligations: **
**One Pump: 60-day pumping period**
**Second Pump: 30-day pumping period within the 60-day period of the first pump**
**Pumping Season from April thru June**
**Any pumping outside of those limitations = Overrun (extra pumping costs)**
**Initial pumping fee approx $35,000**

**1.  Senior water rights on the Colorado River limit Windy Gap diversions in drier years.**

## Slide 30

## RiverTrack Streamflow Forecasting System Implementation (in progress)

** ****Development of hydrologic forecast system   using Rivertrack**
- Produce ESP traces
- Use of ESPADP software to analyze traces
- Data collection from NWS + NRCS (T and P)
- Use of isoP maps from PRISM
- SNOW-17 and SAC-SMA (Sacramento Soil Moisture Model)
**Model will allow:**
- Real Time Hydrograph Forecast and Apr-July Streamflow Forecas
- Integration of long term seasonal information through the use of ESPADP in the statistical analysis of ESP traces

## Additional Use/Need for Climate Data & Products

- First things first: data availability, continuity, consistency and integrity
-  Better understanding of **long-term climate variability** (PDO, NAO, ENSO, solar activity, drought cycles...)
-  Better understanding of **climate trends** associated with global warming and impact on local water resources
- Development of tools to **integrate long term forecasts into water resources planning**
- On-going **dialogue** between water community/climate community

## THANK YOU !

- For more information:
- (970) 622-2356
- _[evincent@ncwcd.org](mailto:evincent@ncwcd.org)_
- www.ncwcd.org