Colorado Watershed Assembly - Colorado Water Facts

General Water Facts	Water in the US	Nonpoint Source Pollution (NPS)
U.S. Rivers	Aquatic Life	Water in Colorado
Colorado River	Denver Metro Area	San Juan/ Dolores/ San Miguel River Basin
Yampa, Green, and White Rivers	Missouri (South Platte) Regional Watershed	Arkansas Regional Watershed

General Water Facts

The value of water is determined by the amount of historical consumptive use, the priority of the water right and LOCATION.
The highest waterfall is Angel Falls in Venezuela and drops 3,212ft (979m).
The Nile River in Africa is 4,160 mi (6,695km) long. It travels northward from its remote headwaters in Burundi to the Mediterranean Sea.
The wettest place on Earth is Lloro, Columbia averaging 523.6in of rainfall a year or more than 40ft. (13m). *That is about 10 times more than fairly wet major cities in Europe or the U.S.
Yosemite Falls in California is the highest water fall in the U.S. at 2,425ft (739m).
About 97% of the world’s water is in oceans. This makes up about 2/3 of the Earth’s surface.
Nearly 70% of the Earth’s fresh-water supply is locked up in the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland. The remaining fresh-water supply exists in the atmosphere, streams, lakes, or groundwater and accounts for a mere 1% of the Earth’s total.
The Pacific Ocean covers 64 million square miles (165 million square kilometers). It is more than two times the size of the Atlantic and has an average depth of 2.4 mi (3.9 km).
The largest lake in the world by size and volume is the Caspian Sea located between Europe and West Asia.
Groundwater comprises 30 times greater volume than all freshwater lakes, more than 3,000 times what’s in the world’s streams and rivers at any given time. Groundwater is housed in natural underground aquifers, in which the water typically runs around and through the stone and other material.
About 1/3 of the Earth’s Surface is desert
The greatest known depth in the ocean is 36,198ft (6.9mi or 11km) at the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean south of Japan near the Mariana Islands.
More than 2 million cubic miles of fresh water is stored on Earth, nearly half of it within a half-mile of the surface.
Lake Baikal is 5,712 ft (1.7km) deep and is the world’s deepest lake located in south central Siberia. It’s about 20 million years old and contains 20% of Earth’s fresh liquid water.
The total water supply of the world is 344 million cubic miles (1 cubic mile of water equals more than 1 trillion gallons).

315 million cubic miles (93%) is sea water
9 million cubic miles (2.5%) is in aquifers deep below the earth’s surface
7 million cubic miles (2%) is frozen polar ice caps
53,000 cubic miles of water pass through the planet’s lakes and streams
4,000 cubic miles of water is atmospheric moisture
3,400 cubic miles of water are locked within the bodies of living things

The Antarctic Ice Sheet holds nearly 90% of the world’s ice and 70% of its fresh water. If the entire ice sheet were to melt, sea level would rise by nearly 220 ft. or the height of a 20-story building. There is a melting trend underway which the United Nations have said that in a worst-case scenario—depending on how much global air temperatures increase- seas could jump 3 ft (1m) by 2100.
Ice is a mineral and is formally described as such in Dana’s System of Mineralogy.
Lake Superior is the largest lake in North America
On average 400 billion gallons of water is used each day worldwide
About 70% of the world’s fresh water is stored as glacial ice. *To replace it all it would take 60 years of the entire globe’s rainfall, and then you’d have to figure out a way to freeze it!
Lake Tahoe on the California- Nevada border is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its surface is 105,000 acres, and it holds 39 trillion gallons of water, and is almost 1,600ft (488m) deep.
Water covers nearly ¾ of the earth’s surface. Most of the earth’s surface water is permanently frozen or salty. Over 90% of the world’s fresh water is located in Antarctica.
If all the water in the world were to fit into a gallon jug, the fresh water available for us to use would equal only about one tablespoon!!
If one-thousandth (or more) of the weight of water is from salt, then the water is considered “saline”
The overall amount of water on our planet has remained the same for two billion years
1.2 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean water
Each day almost 10,000 children under the age of 5 in Third World countries die as a result of illnesses contracted by use of impure water.
Most of the world’s people must walk at least 3 hours to fetch water.
By 2025, 52 countries, with 2/3 of the world’s population, will likely have water shortages
On a global average, most freshwater withdrawls—69%—are used for agriculture, while industry accounts for 23% and municipal use (drinking water, bathing and cleaning, and watering plants and grass) just 8%
The average person needs 2 quarts of water a day.
During the 20th century, water use increased at double the rate of population growth; while the global population tripled, water use per capita increased by six times
A corn field of one acre gives off 4,000 gallons of water per day in evaporation
It takes about 6 gallons of water to grow a single serving of lettuce. More than 2,600 gallons is required to produce a single serving of steak.
It takes almost 49 gallons of water to produce just one eight-ounce glass of milk. That includes water consumed by the cow and to grow the food she eats, plus water used to process the milk.
About 6,800 gallons of water is required to grow a day's food for a family of four.
About 39,090 gallons of water is needed to make an automobile, tires included.
One mature tree in a riparian area can filter as much as 200 pounds of nitrates runoff per year.
One gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds

Water in the U.S.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that 70% of the riparian habitat nationwide has been lost or altered.
LA is ranked #1 among the 10 biggest cities running out of water, 3rd is Phoenix, and 7th is Las Vegas which gets 85% of its water from Lake Mead, which is at record lows.
To desalinate water to use as drinking water costs so much that it isn’t done on a very large scale. The cost of desalting sea water in the U.S. ranges from $1 to $16 per 1000 gallons
Americans flush 6.8 billion gallons of water down their toilets every day
The U.S. consumes water at twice the rate of other industrialized nations. Per capita water use in the western U.S. is much higher than in any other region, because of agricultural needs in this arid region. In 1985, daily per capita consumption in Idaho was 22,200 gallons versus 152 gallons in Rhode Island.
The average single-family home uses 80 gallons of water per person each day in the winter and 120 gallons in the summer. Showering, bathing and using the toilet account for about two-thirds of the average family's water usage.
More than 87% of the water consumed in Utah is used for agriculture and irrigation
Water used around the house for such things as drinking, cooking, bathing, toilet flushing, washing clothes and dishes, watering lawns and gardens, maintaining swimming pools, and washing cars accounts for only 1% of all the water used in the U.S. each year
80% of the fresh water we use in the U.S. is for irrigating crops and generating thermoelectric-power.
The average American consumes 1,500 pounds of food each year; 1,000 gallons of water are required to grow and process each pound of that food—1.5 million gallons of water is invested in the food eaten by just one person! This 200,000-cubic-feet-plus of water-per-person would be enough to cover a football field four feet deep
Only 7% of the country's landscape is in a riparian zone, only 2% of which still supports riparian vegetation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimate that 70% of the riparian habitat nationwide has been lost or altered.
More than 247 million acres of United States' wetlands have been filled, dredged or channelized—an area greater than the size of California, Nevada and Oregon combined.
Over 90% of the nearly 900,000 acres of riparian areas on Bureau of Land Management land are in degraded condition due to livestock grazing.
Riparian areas in the West provide habitat for more species of birds than all other western vegetation combined; 80% of neotropical migrant species (mostly songbirds) depend on riparian areas for nesting or migration. Fully 80% of all vertebrate wildlife in the Southwest depend on riparian areas for at least half of their life.
A 1982 study showed that areas cleared of riparian vegetation in the Midwest had erosion rates of 15 to 60 tons per year.
One mature tree in a riparian area can filter as much as 200 pounds of nitrates runoff per year.
At least 9.6 million households and $390 billion in property lie in flood prone areas in the United States. The rate of urban growth in floodplains is approximately twice that of the rest of the country.
If all the water in the Great Lakes was spread evenly across the continental U.S., the ground would be covered with almost 10 feet of water.
Yosemite Falls in California is the highest water fall in the U.S. at 2,425ft (739m).
Lake Superior is the largest lake in North America
Lake Tahoe on the California- Nevada border is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its surface is 105,000 acres, and it holds 39 trillion gallons of water, and is almost 1,600ft (488m) deep.

Nonpoint Source Pollution (NPS)

According to the EPA nonpoint source pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt that moves over and through the ground where it picks up and carries natural and human-made pollutants. Pollutants are deposited into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and ground waters.
Common nonpoint pollutants include excess fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides from agricultural lands and residential areas and oil, grease and toxic chemicals from urban runoff and energy production. Sediment from construction, mining and agricultural sites as well as salts, acids, bacteria and atmospheric deposition are also likely pollutants (EPA).
Due to many diffuse sources nonpoint sources create challenges to municipal, state, and federal environmental and water control authorities.
Nonpoint source pollution is likely the largest threat to water quality (USDA) and the largest source of water quality problems (EPA).
NPS pollution is mainly the reason 40% of U.S. rivers, lakes, and estuaries “are not clean enough to meet basic uses such as fishing or swimming (EPA).”
Due to many sources of pollution, regulation is almost impossible. The EPA believes the best way to mitigate the pollution is through voluntary action.

Lawn and Garden: By keeping litter, pet waste, leaves/ debris out of the street gutters and storm drains can prevent chemicals applied in lawn and garden from traveling from storm drains to local waterways. *It is best to apply lawn fertilizers and garden chemicals sparingly
Erosion Prevention: By controlling erosion on your property through planting ground cover and stabilizing erosion-prone areas sediment load into waterways can also be reduced.
Household Items: Voluntary reduction in phosphates in dishwashing detergents in the U.S. has reduced nutrient load into lakes and streams. Dispose of household chemicals like oil, antifreeze and, paints properly (hazardous household waste drop-offs) and NOT in storm drains.

Local, regional, and state government has helped to reduce NPS pollution by enacting and enforcing building codes and other rules that can reduce outflows. Some municipalities have mandated erosion and sediment control ordinances requiring the construction of natural buffers in building and landscaping projects to filter out pollutants before they reach local watersheds.

U.S. Rivers

The National Wild and Scenic River System has only 11,434 river miles in it- just over one-quarter of one percent of our rivers are protected through this designation.

Currently, 600,000 miles of our rivers lie behind an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 dams. The U.S. has 3,500,000 miles of rivers. The 600,000 miles of rivers lying behind dams amounts to fully 17% of our river mileage.
The Missouri River is about 2,540 miles long, making it the longest river in the U.S.
The 8 longest rivers in the U.S. are Missouri, Mississippi, Yukon, St. Lawrence (counting the Great Lakes and its headwaters as one system), Rio Grande, Arkansas, Colorado, and Ohio in descending order.
The largest rivers in the U.S., based on volume are the Mississippi, St. Lawrence, Ohio, Columbia, Yukon, Missouri, Tennessee, and Mobile in descending order.
Of the 1200 species listed as threatened or endangered, 50% depend on rivers and streams.

Aquatic Life

One fifth of the world's freshwater fish—2,000 of 10,000 species identified—are endangered, vulnerable, or extinct. In North America, the continent most studied, 67% of all mussels, 51% of crayfish, 40% of amphibians, 37% of fish, and 75% of freshwater mollusks are rare, imperiled, or already gone.
At least 123 freshwater species became extinct during the 20th century. These include 79 invertebrates, 40 fishes, and 4 amphibians. (There may well have been other species that were never identified.)
Freshwater animals are disappearing five times faster than land animals.
In the Pacific Northwest, over 100 stocks and subspecies of salmon and trout have gone extinct and another 200 are at risk due to a host of factors, dams and the loss of riparian habitat being prime factors

Water in Colorado

In Colorado, the Rocky Mountains create the headwaters for 4 regional watersheds that eventually supply water to some 19 Western states. Those 4 regional watersheds are the Arkansas, Colorado, Rio Grande and Missouri (South Platte).
There are 8 major basins that are designated by the state of Colorado and represented by roundtables: Arkansas Basin, Colorado Basin, Gunnison Basin, Metro and South Platte Basin, North Platte Basin, Rio Grande Basin, Southwest Basin, Yampa/White Basin. Visit the Colorado Water Conservation Board website
Riparian habitat makes up less than 3% of the land in Colorado, but is used by over 90% of the wildlife in the state.
Almost 90% of Colorado’s naturally occurring lakes are found at altitudes above 9,000 feet.
Over 1,300 miles of streams in Colorado are impacted by metals as a result of acid mine drainage.
There are more than 9,000 miles of streams and 2,000 lakes and reservoirs open to fishing in Colorado.

18% of Colorado’s population relies on ground water.Ground water represents only about 17% of all water diverted.

Colorado Division of Water Resources issues over 8,000 well permits per year (70% domestic).
In Colorado, water is a separate property right that can be sold separately from the land
The Prior Appropriation Doctrine entitles those who put water to use first to get their water first during periods of water shortage. In 1879, Colorado established Water Commissioners to distribute water rights in priority based upon principle of “First In Time... First In Right”
Water deliveries in CO by percent are 86% towards agriculture, 7% municipal/domestic, 3% recreation/fisheries, 2% industrial/commercial, 1% augmentation, 1% recharge.
The Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act (2005) creates a collaborative process which establishes structure to deal with how the state addresses its water challenges. It does so by setting up a framework providing a permanent forum for broad-based water discussions. It creates two new structures: 1. The Interbasin Compact Committee, a state-wide committee addressing issues between basins; and 2. The Basin Roundtables.

Colorado River

No major rivers flow into Colorado. Our rivers originate high in the Rocky Mountains – primarily as snowmelt that soaks into the ground or runs into streams.
87% of the water leaving Colorado flows out of the Colorado River basin toward the Pacific Ocean.
19 states rely on Colorado water!
The Colorado River supplies water for nearly 30 million residents of seven states, more than two-thirds of which live outside of the hydraulic boundaries of the Basin.
The Colorado River irrigates more than 3.5 million acres of farm land.
The Colorado River is 1,450 mi. and encompasses 7 U.S. states and 2 Mexican states. The River Basin covers 246,000 square miles, and serves 20 American Indian nations.
The Colorado River Delta today extends just north of the U.S.- Mexico border to the confluence of the Colorado and the Gulf, where it is largely desert-like due to the heavy upstream diversions.* This area is home to the most important wetland habitat in North America’s SW desert with over 350 bird species
Population growth, energy development, climate change and 11 years of consecutive drought have stretched water storage supplies to near limit in almost every part of the CO River basin. With 30 million people wanting the river’s 5 trillion gallons for agriculture, drinking water, and electricity, over the last decade the CO has run dry in the Sonoran Desert before reaching the sea.
Bald eagles use the CO River in the Grand Canyon as winter habitat.
78% of all water from the CO River is for irrigation purposes. The CO irrigates 15% of the nation’s crops and feeds 13% of the nation’s livestock, including Imperial Valley (Mexico), which provides 80% of the country’s winter vegetables.
U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar plays a large role on the Colorado, managing most of the large dams on the river, and serving as “water master” in the Lower Basin in the states of AZ, CA, and NV below Hoover Dam. The federal presence looms large in water management throughout the basin, including decisions about management at the US-Mexico border. In addition, major water users on the Colorado River typically contract for water with the U.S. Secretary of Interior for annual deliveries.
Michael Connor, Commissioner of the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, directly oversees the collection and disposition of water in the Upper and Lower Colorado River regions, as well as additional Western states and the Great Plains. The Bureau is the largest wholesale provider of water in the country, providing one out of five Western farmers with irrigation water for farmland that produces much of the nation’s produce.
The CO and its tributaries support a multibillion dollar recreational economy that includes white- water rafting, boating, kayaking, fly fishing, birding, hunting, and hiking, attracting tens of millions of outdoor enthusiasts worldwide
The River is home to 30 endemic fish species found in no other river system. 2/3 of endemic species are threatened or endangered
The river is fed by 15 major tributaries- The Gunnison, Green, San Juan, and the Little Colorado are the main tributaries in the upper basin. The Gila, the chief tributary of the lower basin rarely reaches the CO mainstem.
The storage capacity of the CO River is roughly 4 times the annual average flow, far more than any other U.S. river. In the past decade of drought we have gulped our way through half the water in storage such that our reservoir system today is almost half empty.
Today, about two-thirds of the water flowing in the Colorado River and its tributaries is used for irrigation, irrigating more than 3 million acres of farmland and producing a vast food supply, which comprises nearly one-third of the U.S. winter crop and 13% of the nation's livestock. The other one-third supplies urban areas, provides water to riparian vegetation, or evaporates from the River's multi-tiered reservoir system.
The River provides water to approximately 30 million people, more than two-thirds of whom live outside of the hydrologic boundaries of the Basin.
Hydroelectric facilities in the Basin generate approximately 12 billion kilowatt-hours annually, supplying critical peaking power and base loads that are used to support the broader western power grids.
It is predicted that by 2050 the Colorado River flow will decline by 18% due to a projected increase in warming of 1.7 degrees Celsius. This will decline the average CO Basin water storage by 32%
The CO River is controlled by a collection of interstate and international agreements. In 1922 when the CO River Compact divided the average annual flow of the river between the states it was thought to average 17.5 million acre feet of water per year. More recent date indicates that the river only averages 14.7 million acre feet.
78% of the surface water withdrawn from the CO River is used for agriculture. 22% is consumed for municipal and industrial use.
Rapid population growth is the major driver of water demand. Between 1990 and 2000 AZ’s population increased by 40% and CO’s population increased by 30%. Population projections predict continued increasing demand
Since 1990, the total number of people in the United States and Mexico that use Colorado River basin water has increased by more than ten million. The waters of the Colorado River mainstem and its tributaries have helped fuel the growth of some of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the U.S., including Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego, California’s Orange County and Inland Empire, Albuquerque, and Tucson.
The Hoover Dam is located in the Black Canyon between Arizona and Nevada along the CO River. It was completed in 1936 "to make the desert bloom" has enough concrete to build a highway from D.C. to Seattle--but its hydro-electric turbines may soon be stilled. Invasive zebra muscles have now spread by the billions like a computer virus through the waters of Lake Mead and other River reservoirs--clogging intakes on dam, and imperiling native species.
The Blue Mesa Reservoir on the Gunnison River is the largest in the state and holds about 784,400 acre feet of water. It is the largest body of water in the state, and is home to the largest Kokanee Salmon fishery in the U.S.
The second largest reservoir is Lake Granby which supplies water to the Front Range metro area through the Colorado- Big Thompson Project. The lake holds 465,568 acre-feet of water.
Other major reservoirs in the Upper Colorado River Basin include Lake Dillon and Green Mountain Reservoir.
The Co River Compact of 1922 divides the river water use between upper and lower basin states. The lower basin states are comprised of AZ, CA, NV and regions of NM and UT (below Lee Ferry, AZ). The upper basin states include CO, NM, UT, WY, and the region of AZ above Lee Ferry, AZ.
A trans-continental diversion project brings water from the Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains to the more populous areas of metro CO on the Eastern Slope. The water is moved across the Continental Divide.
The river’s water quality varies as it travels through different stretches and land uses. Runoff from agriculture, abandoned mines, and naturally occurring saline ground water discharges cause localized water quality problems.
Irrigation of agricultural fields accounts for 43% of the river’s surface water diversions. Roughly 1 million acres of agricultural lands acres of agricultural lands are irrigated in the basin.
Municipal diversions are miniscule in comparison to other uses of surface water at 7/10 of 1%.
Many ski resorts within watershed which use river water to make snow, many “gold medal” trout streams, and whitewater rafting and kayaking destinations.
Hydroelectric power generation from Morrow Point and Shoshone Power Plants accounts for 32% of surface water usage in the basin.

Denver Metro Area

Each year, 15 million raindrops strike each square foot of land in the Denver area. Each raindrop that hits the ground dislodges soil particles. These soil particles (sediment) contribute to water pollution.
Conservation can have up to a 30% savings of water use during drought for municipal systems
A trans-continental diversion project brings water from the Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains to the more populous areas of metro CO on the Eastern Slope. The water is moved across the Continental Divide.
A diversion transports 196,160 acre-feet per year through the Alva B. Adams Tunnel to farms and cities in the metro area between Fort Collins and Denver. The Roberts Tunnel (63,000 acre-feet per year) and Moffat Tunnel (53,160 acre-feet per year) are also key components of Denver Water’s delivery system.

San Juan/ Dolores/ San Miguel River Basin

The CO River Compact and the Upper CO River Compact affect the entire Western Slope, and entitles CO to consumptively use 51.75% of the total water available to the Upper Colorado River Basin. Presently, consumptive use in the San Juan and Dolores is approximately 4,300 acre-feet in the form of exports to other river basins
The San Juan River originates in the southwest part of the state, coalescing in the forested slopes and narrow valleys near Wolf Creek Pass as it starts its descent southward through the town and Pagosa Springs and into New Mexico. The San Juan gains water as it travels from major tributaries: the Piedra, Rio Blanco and Navajo rivers.
The Dolores River gathers runoff from the snow-laden mountainsides of the Lizard Head Wilderness Area south of Telluride. The water gathers near the San Miguel River and flows northwest to form the northern-most watershed in the basin. The San Miguel flows all the way down to the state border before joining up with the Dolores River as it makes a giant “U” around the mountains and flows north and west into Utah.
In the southwestern corner of CO the Mancos, La Plata and Animas Rivers also drain out of the mountain and eventually join up with the San Juan River.
By the time the San Juan River crosses the state line its waters are already impounded by the large Navajo Reservoir. The reservoir provides important recreation, fish and wildlife benefits. Its primary purpose is to provide irrigation water and flood control. Fish species with the reservoir include northern pike, smallmouth bass, catfish, rainbow trout and kokanee salmon.
Other reservoirs of the San Juan include the McPhee, Vallecito, Animas-La Plata (under construction), Lemon, Cascade, Groundhog, Narraguinnep, Williams Creck, Jackson Gulch, and Summit.
Advisories for fish consumption from the McPhee, Navajo, and Narraguinnep reservoirs have been issued by CO health officials due to mercury released by coal power plants in New Mexico.
Dolores Project: water stored and delivered from the Dolores River is used for irrigation, municipal use, recreation, fish and wildlife, and hydroelectric power. It is also vital water to the Dove Creek area, central Montezuma Valley area, and to the Towaoc area on the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation. The McPhee Dam and Reservoir is the principal storage feature of the project which includes a system of canals, tunnels and laterals to deliver water to some 61,000 acres of land.
San Juan- Chama Project: water is diverted from the San Juan River Basin to the Rio Grande Basin. The water is used primarily to provide cities and industries in the middle Rio Grande Valley with water. It also provides agricultural irrigation water and fish and wildlife benefits. Municipal beneficiaries include Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Los Alamos, and many other smaller New Mexico towns.
Agricultural irrigation is the largest diverter of surface water with 61% in the San Juan River basin. 20% of surface water deliveries in the basin are for fish-related programs, such as the Dolores River fishery downstream of the McPhee Reservoir and the San Juan Basin Recovery Implementation Program for the endangered pike minnow and razorback sucker.
The basins population has increased by 38% from 1990 to 2000 and is now around 100,500 people. This has resulted in surface water deliveries for municipal uses to increase by about 38%, too. 1.2% of the basin’s diversions are used for surface water diversions.
With average snowpack the river is floatable from late April to early June. In very dry years there may be no boatable flows at all. Rafting and float trips on the Dolores require no permits
The San Miguel River’s flows are altered by diversion dams. It drops 7,000ft. from an alpine ecosystem near Telluride to the desert near Uravan. The San Miguel offers whitewater boating in a variety of runs within class range of II+ to III.
The San Juan River has a short float fishing window in early spring and directly following run-off. Stonefly hatch usually occurs within the first weeks of June.

Yampa, Green, and White River Basins

The Yampa River is the last remaining wild free flowing river in the Colorado River Basin and one of the last free flowing rivers in Western United States. It rises in the Flat Top Mountains above the town of Yampa and flows for approximately 250 river miles to it’s confluence with the Green River in Echo Park in Dinosaur National Monument.
The Yampa, White, and Green watersheds drain the northwest corner of CO.
The Yampa River rises in the Flat Top Wilderness Area and Routt National Forest. It flows past the towns of Steamboat Springs and Craig. It joins the Green River near Dinosaur National Monument near the CO-UT border. The Green eventually meets the CO River in Canyonlands National Park. The White River originates in the Flat Top (same as the Yampa) and is about 160 miles long. Its north fork starts at Trappers Lake and its south fork begins a few miles south. The north and south fork meet near Buford and flow downstream through a broad valley of hayfields past the town of Meeker. As the river passes through the Piceance Basin, a significant oil and gas extraction site and the landscape changes. The river continues past the town of Rangely before crossing into Utah where it meets the Green River south of Ouray, Utah.
The Yampa River tributaries include Little Snake, Williams Fork, Elk and Bear rivers as well as Fortification and Elk creeks.
The White River’s major tributaries include the Piceance, Yellow and Douglas creeks.
The Yampa and White River watershed basins are some of the few in CO that are not over-appropriated. The Yampa River is one of the only un-dammed rivers in the state of CO.
Major reservoirs include the Elkhead, Stagecoach, Kenny and Steamboat Lake.
There are 3 conservancy districts operating in the basin to provide drinking and irrigation water. These districts are Great Northern, Upper Yampa and Yellow Jacket.
Towns receive their drinking water from surface and groundwater. Meeker utilizes 5 wells; Rangely’s drinking water comes from the White River; and Craig receives its drinking water from the Yampa River and its tributaries. Many other towns in the Yampa and White River watersheds have their own water supplies which tap either river water or ground water.
An average of 2.2 million acre-feet of water leaves the state each year via the White and Yampa rivers. Before it leaves the state, these rivers and tributaries help irrigate 113,000 acres of agricultural land in northwest CO.
Agriculture is the major diverter of river water in the watershed at 53%. Power generation comprises 39%- Hydroelectric power is generated at Stagecoach Reservoir on the Yampa River, Taylor Dram Dam and Kenney Reservoir on the White River. Municipal use of river water in the watershed is only one-half of one percent.
Steamboat Lake is one of the three lakes in CO deemed a gold medal fishery. The reservoir was created in 1967-1968 and covers 1,053 acres offering great fishing, camping and scenery.
Steamboat Ski Resort is renowned for its powder and Howelsen Hill, which is North America’s most natural ski jumping complex. 47 Olympians have trained at Howelsen Hill.
Whitewater rafting and kayaking are significant recreation uses in the watershed.

Missouri (South Platte) Regional Watershed

The South Platte River originates in Colorado and is formed by the convergence of several smaller rivers- the north, middle and south forks.
This regional watershed (from a national perspective) is referred to as the Missouri Regional Watershed, which includes rivers from NE, parts of CO, IA, KS, MT, MN,MO, ND, SD, and WY.

Rio Grande Regional Watershed

The Rio Grande is 12,000 feet above sea level on the eastern slope of the San Juan Mountains
The headwaters of the Rio Grande begin to flow in the broad San Luis Valley.
The Rio Grande is the 3^rd longest river in the U.S. and the 5^th longest in North America travelling 1,900 miles through CO, NM, TX, and Mexico before “reaching” the Gulf of Mexico
United States-Mexican Water Treaty of 1906 guarantees the delivery of 60,000 acre-feet of water annually at the International Dam at Cuidad Juarez, except during periods of extreme drought.
Rio Grande River Compact of 1938 established CO’s obligation to ensure deliveries of water at the New Mexico state line and New Mexico’s obligation to assure deliveries of water at the Elephant Butte Reservoir, with some allowance for credit and debit accounts. The Compact also provides that the allocation of water to the states shall not be increased or decreased by changes in the delivery or loss of water to Mexico.
The Rio Grande headwaters begin at elevations about 12,000 ft.
The Rio Grande is bordered to the east by the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountains, and to the west by the Continental divide.
The Rio Grande River Basin encompasses 7,700 sq. miles and has two main tributaries- the Conejos and Alamosa rivers, as well as several smaller creeks- Culebra, Trinchera, and La Jara.
The largest reservoir in the basin is the Sanchez Reservoir with 103,114 acre-feet capacity. The Platoro, Rio Grande and Santa Maria reservoir are also major reservoirs within the basin.
A combination of surface and groundwater are used to supply drinking and irrigation water to farmers, landowners, and towns. About 20% of local water supply comes from groundwater. The primary use of both ground and surface water is used to irrigate an estimated 600,000 acres of agricultural lands. 93% of all surface water diversions are used for agriculture irrigation.
Water quality in the basin is generally good though there is an increased amount of nutrient concentrations (ammonia and nitrates) due to agriculture, along with an increase in temperatures due to shallow flows from heavy diversion of the river for irrigation in the summer.
Headwater tributaries including Willow Creek near Creede, Kerber Creek above Bonanza and the Alamosa River below Summitville have been impacted from mining.
The Closed Basin is a unique geological structure in the northern half of the San Luis Valley that scientists believe is hydrologically disconnected from the Rio Grande watershed. Water from the Closed Basin is pumped into the Rio Grande River each year to meet the needs of the Rio Grande Compact. The Closed Basin Aquifer is some 500- 4,000ft thick across most of the San Luis Valley.
Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project identified a 91 mile stretch of the Rio Grande- stretching from the upstream city limits of the town of South Fork to the Alamosa-Conejos county line. The project recognizes that bank stabilization, better irrigation diversions, improved grazing management and levee repair projects are needed to restore historical functions of the river.

Arkansas Regional Watershed

The Arkansas Regional watershed encompasses most of southeast CO.
It originates near Leadville, CO and flows about 1,450miles south-east to the Mississippi River in Arkansas.
Major tributaries to the Arkansas River in CO include the Purgatoire and Huerfano Rivers.
The AK River at its head waters is a steep, cold mountain torrent, dropping 4,600 feet in 120 miles.
At Canon City the river leaves the mountains and enters the steep rock walls of Royal Gorge.
Just west of the city of Pueblo the river is impounded in the Pueblo Reservoir making the rest of its journey through CO and KS a typical prairie river with wide shallow banks subject to some flooding.
The Arkansas Compact: The compact apportions the water of the AK River between CO (60%) and KS (40%). It provides for storage accounts in John Martin Reservoir (JMR) and the release of the water from those accounts for CO and KS water users. If the conservation pool in the reservoir is depleted, CO is required to administer water right priorities downstream of JMR. During those periods KS is not entitled to water flowing into the reservoir.
Water held in John Martin Reservoir helps Colorado meet its Arkansas River Compact requirements
The Arkansas River Basin drains 24,904 square miles and is CO’s largest river basin, yet has relatively few major tributaries. The south Arkansas River joins the mainstream near Salida. Other tributaries include Fountain Creek in Pueblo and the Purgatoire River just upstream of John Martin Reservoir.
Major reservoirs of the Arkansas River Basin were constructed at lower elevations of the river. The John Martin Reservoir contains 333,912 acre-feet and Pueblo Reservoir holds 228,828 acre-feet.
Roughly 55% of the basin’s surface water is used in agricultural irrigation through diversions. Roughly 400,000 acres are irrigated within the basin. The second biggest diversions in the basin are reservoirs (i.e. John Martin and Pueblo) making up 36%.
4.6% of the basin’s total surface diversions are for municipal usage.
The Arkansas River Basin’s headwaters have been subjected to intensive mining activity severely impairing many alpine watersheds in the Leadville area.
Return flows from irrigation tend to flush salts and other potential pollutants such as arsenic and selenium that occur naturally in this region (tributaries below the Pueblo Reservoir), into the river system.
The Southern Delivery System (SDS) Project is a proposed regional water delivery project designed to serve future water needs of the City of Colorado Springs, City of Fountain, Security Water District and Pueblo West Metropolitan District through 2046. As proposed, SDS would deliver water supplied by the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project and non-Fryingpan-Arkansas water from the Arkansas River near the City of Pueblo to the service areas.
The Fryingpan-Arkansas Project is a transmountain diversion project which moves water from the Fryingpan River and other tributaries of the Roaring Fork River on the Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains, to the Arkansas River Basin on the Eastern Slope.
Water diverted from the Western Slope combined with water from the Arkansas River Basin, provides an average annual water supply of 80,400 acre-feet for both municipal/domestic use and the supplemental irrigation of some 280,600 acres in the Arkansas Valley.
The Upper AK River is one of the most popular whitewater rafting and kayaking destinations in the nation, especially the section through Browns Canyon. The First in Boating Arkansas (FIBArk) whitewater festival in the town of Salida draws roughly 25,000 people every summer. Other popular recreational pursuits include fishing and boating at the Pueblo and John Martin Reservoirs.
At the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park near Canon City, the world’s highest suspension bridge hangs 1,053ft above the Arkansas River. In the spring and summer months, whitewater rats may be visible bouncing through the tumultuous waters below.